What if Lily was not muggleborn
by Teddylonglong
Summary: ... and Harry did not have a scar when he came to Hogwarts? Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing,
1. Prologue

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, maybe Dumbledore bashing_

* * *

Lily Evans was a Seer. She knew that James and her were going to die soon in order to protect Baby Harry.

In the morning of October 30, 1981, she settled down at her desk and composed her will, glad that Harry was spending the day with Alice and Baby Neville.

Uncertain if James would get around to make his own will on time, she went to Gringotts to leave hers with the goblins. _'Gringotts is probably the safest place nowadays,'_ she thought, letting out a deep sigh.

As she approached one of the goblins, he gave her a questioning look, asking, "Lady Potter, what can the goblins do for you?"

"I'd like to speak with Buckbean, our account manager," she replied in a firm voice, foregoing any other formalities, and was ushered into a small room, assured that Buckbean would be by in a moment.

"Buckbean," she greeted the goblin, somehow feeling relieved at his sight. In spite of the fact that goblins were said to dislike humans, their account manager had always been extremely polite towards her, even if she was muggleborn. "May your gold flow."

"Lady Potter, may your enemies cower in front of you," Buckbean replied, smirking, seeming impressed with her greeting. "Let us speak in my office."

Lily had been in Buckbean's office together with James before, however, more than at that time, it somehow felt like an honour to be taken into the office, which radiated the atmosphere of a high-ranking goblin.

"Lady Potter, what brings you to Gringotts today?" Buckbean enquired.

"Please just call me Lily," Lily replied, smiling. "I'm a Seer, and I know that my husband and I are going to be attacked by Voldemort soon. As we're both going to die in the attack and I took some precautions to ensure that my baby will survive it, provided that it'll work, I made a will and wish to place it into our vault." She handed a couple of parchments to the goblin, who accepted them wearing an expression of what seemed to be concern.

"May I read your will?" he asked and, seeing her nod in agreement, proceeded to engross himself in his lecture.

While she was waiting, Lily skimmed the goblin-crafted items that were impressively decorating the walls in amazement, before she was brought back to reality, when Buckbean let out a deep sigh.

"Lily," he then began to speak again, "I heard that you're a Charms mistress on top of being a Seer."

"Yes," Lily confirmed. "I just finished my Charms Mastery this summer," she added, asking herself, ' _What does this have to do with our impending deaths?_ '

"Everything," Buckbean replied, making her realise that she had spoken aloud. "As I'm not a master of Charms, I can't be sure, however, I believe that there are ways to create illusions, copies or other forms even from human beings. You might wish to speak about the matter with your ancestor though. He's a master of concealment."

"My ancestor?" Lily asked in bewilderment. "I'm a mudblood as the dark wizards use to say. What would muggles know about the kind of supposedly dark magic you mentioned?"

Buckbean began to laugh aloud. Leaning forward to give her a sharp look, he queried, "Do you really believe being muggleborn?"

Lily gaped at the goblin. "Buckbean, if I was anything else than muggleborn, I certainly would be aware of the matter."

"The goblin chuckled. "Apparently not," he contradicted, "and it's not only that you're not muggleborn, you're the heiress of a noble and most ancient house," he informed her. "Would you be willing to give me one drop of your blood?" he enquired, placing a large parchment on the table in front of her.

"Of course," Lily replied, feeling slightly dazed at the revelation. _'That's not possible,_ ' she thought, however, decided to indulge the goblin.

With a flick of the goblin's hand, one drop of her blood found itself at the top of the parchment, leaving a black dot. Lily observed with interest how her name showed up below the dot, before James' name appeared next to it, and the rest of the map was automatically filled with lines, dots and names. There were so many; she could not even count them, before the writing finally reached the top of the parchment.

"As you can see, while your husband James' line goes straight back to the Peverells and further to the Gryffindors, ending here with Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw, your line is interrupted, if you want me to express it this way, by Squibs. However, the Evans line goes straight back to the year 1213, when Violet Slytherin married Nicholas Evans."

Lily stared at the parchment, wide-eyed. "That makes me a descendant of…" She slowly trailed off, unable to believe the information that the parchment provided.

"Salazar Slytherin and Helga Hufflepuff," Buckbean completed her sentence. "You're the heiress of the Slytherin family. You only have to claim the ladyship along with the ring to become the Lady Slytherin."

Lily looked at the goblin in shock. "Buckbean," she stammered, "would everyone know if I did so?"

"Everyone?" Buckbean enquired, smirking.

"Well, Dumbledore or Voldemort or whoever," Lily replied, admitting that she did not really trust Dumbledore to have their best interests in mind, considering her recent visions.

"As long as you don't openly display your ring or take your seat on the Wizengamot, no one will know," Buckbean reassured her. "I'd recommend that you take over your heritage. You will then be able to access the family's vault and also Slytherin Manor, even if I don't know in what condition it is. If you wish so, we could offer to asses the condition and do any necessary repairs if that's what you desire."

"Does the Slytherin vault contain any money to pay you without having to take gold out of the Potter vault?" Lily asked, uncertainly.

"Of course," Buckbean confirmed, smiling. "The vaults of the founders of Hogwarts are the oldest vaults at Gringotts, as it was Lord Gryffindor and the Head Goblin Fullbeak who founded Gringotts in the year 1000. I don't know why your husband never claimed the lordship for the Gryffindor family, however, I suggest that you inform your son about the matter and make him take up the lordship upon his eleventh birthday."

Lily nodded in confusion. ' _How can I do that if I'm dead by that time?_ ' she mused, before she became distracted, when Buckbean showed her a golden ring with a beautiful green diamond.

"This is the ring of the Lady of the noble and most ancient House of Slytherin," he informed her, smiling broadly. He placed a small parchment in front of her, giving her an encouraging nod.

Lily raised her wand. "I, Lily Potter, nee Evans, heiress of the noble and most ancient house of Slytherin, promise to hold up the family values of the Slytherin family, so mote it be," she read from the parchment.

As soon as she slid the ring over the ring finger of her left hand, a blindingly strong, silver light engulfed her body.

When she was able to properly see again, she cast a concealing charm at the ring that would make it invisible to everyone but herself. She stared at the ring in shock. _'Now I'm the Lady Slytherin,'_ she thought, incredulously. _'Shall I tell James about it? He deplores everything Slytherin. I wonder how Severus would react knowing that I'm not a mudblood?'_ she mused, remembering all too well how her former best friend had ended their friendship calling her that.

"Lady Potter-Slytherin," Buckbean called her back to attention, "would you like to see the Slytherin vault?"

"Yes please," Lily replied before instructing Buckbean, "please continue calling me Lily. I'd like to keep the Lady Slytherin thing a secret for now."

"Very well," Buckbean agreed, before he opened the door and strode ahead towards the carriages.

"Ready yourself," he warned her. "It's quite some travel to the oldest vaults."

HP

After a ride, which seemed to take an infinite time in spite of the enormous speed of the carriage, passing dragons and other magical creatures, which Lily could not recognise, the carriage came to a halt. Buckbean led her to a small corridor, which ended in front of two doors.

"The right door is the one leading to the vault of the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw family, vault 1; the left door leads to the vault of the Slytherin-Hufflepuff family, vault 2," Buckbean explained, and Lily was surprised to hear a slight hint of excitement in the goblin's voice. "Please put a finger here onto the Slytherin crest."

Lily carefully pressed her right front finger onto the crest of the Slytherin snake. She felt a small prick, before the door gave in and opened for her to enter the vault.

"Press this button, whenever you wish me to pick you up again," Buckbean instructed her, pointing to a green button in the corridor right outside the vault, before he vanished from the sight.

 _'So the goblins are able to apparate everywhere like the elves,'_ Lily realised. Somehow, she was not surprised, as she had always admired the elves at Hogwarts for their ability. She hesitantly entered the vault, letting her eyes wander around in curiosity, only to notice that it seemed to be almost as large as the Potter vault.

"It's about time," the voice of a man greeted her, turning her attention to a huge painting of the four founders of Hogwarts.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, as she slowly stepped in front of the painting.

"I've been waiting for my heirs to come and visit for almost a millennium," the man, whom she recognised as Salazar Slytherin informed her, sounding very grumpy.

"Nonsense Salazar," Rowena said from his right side, playfully slapping his arm. "It's only the year 1981; so, it's only about five hundred years since the last heirs visited."

"I'm sorry," Lily addressed her ancestor. "I've only just now heard that I'm your heiress. There were many Squibs among my ancestors, so maybe that's the reason."

"Lily Evans?" Rowena addressed her, questioningly. Seeing Lily nod, she continued, "Oh you poor thing. Please take Salazar with you in a small photo frame and let him help you survive this Halloween night together with your husband and baby."

"Why would I want to leave this place?" Salazar enquired, quirking an eyebrow at the witch with the dark black hair and green eyes in the painting.

"Oh Sal, just listen to Rowena and go," the lady on his other side spoke up, before she introduced herself as Helga Hufflepuff.

"No, I'm not going to go anywhere," Salazar replied, stubbornly.

"Please sir, if it's really going to happen on Halloween, I don't have much time. Today is the thirtieth of October," Lily spoke up, giving her great grandfather a pleading look.

"Go and visit your ancestor's home," Salazar instructed her, sounding slightly grumpy. "There's a large portrait of the four of us. You can talk to them."

 _tbc...? If there is interest in this?_


	2. Slytherin Manor

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, maybe Dumbledore bashing_

* * *

Knowing that she still had a couple of hours, before she had to collect Harry, and that Buckbean would not clear her to access Slytherin Manor before the following morning, Lily made her way to the ministry of magic to visit her second-best friend, Amelia Bones. She was an Auror in her first year after finishing Auror training, and she was dating Sirius.

Apparently realising from just getting a good look at Lily that she was under extreme stess, Amelia spontaneously decided to use lunch break to talk to her friend. She took Lily with her into the flat, where she was living just by herself.

"Now tell me everything," she instructed Lily, making her sit next to her on the sofa.

Knowing that she could fully rely on her friend, Lily told her everything about her will and her visit to Gringotts. "Buckbean instructed me to come back first thing in the morning. He'll then provide me with the information about Slytherin Manor."

Amelia remind pensive for a moment, before she replied, "Tomorrow, I'm on the late shift and only have to work from three o'clock in the afternoon. If you want, I can accompany you to Gringotts and if possible to the manor."

Lily cast the young Auror a grateful look. "Thanks Meli, that would be wonderful," she replied, smiling, as she relaxed on the sofa.

"Now, considering that it's All Hallows Eve tomorrow, which is one of the likely times for a possible attack, we need to make a plan," Amelia continued, sounding level-headed. "What have you done so far?"

 _'Where do I begin?'_ Lily wondered, knowing that it would take much longer to describe every little detail than Amelia's lunch break. She vaguely explained about the ritual, which she had undergone, and the charms that she had placed on Harry to ensure that he would live if she sacrificed herself for him. "Buckbean said I should try harder to save James and myself too by making copies or whatever in addition," she added, hesitantly.

"Yes, I second that. I don't want to lose you, so you need to make copies of all of you," Amelia instructed her, "first of all of yourself. Unfortunately," she continued in a subdued voice, "I've never heard of such a charm or spell."

"I don't have a clue how to do such a thing either," Lily replied, sighing.

"Very well, do some research," Amelia told her. "I need to return to the ministry now, but I'll be back right after my shift ends. Feel free to remain here if you wish."

Lily shook her head. "No thanks, Meli, but I'll go to Potter Manor to use the library there."

"Contact me in the morning then," Amelia demanded, causing Lily to nod fiercely.

"Thanks for your help, Meli," she said, gratefully, before she stepped into the fireplace.

During the afternoon and evening, Lily busied herself trying to find information about how to make a copy of a living being, however, to no avail. Even James, whom she informed about the goblin's advice, was not very helpful to say the least.

"Excuse me? You're the heiress of Slytherin?" he asked, incredulously, his eyes widening in apparent shock.

"Yes dear, I'm the Lady Slytherin," Lily replied, smirking, as she made her ring visible to her husband.

"You know that all Slytherins are dark?" James stated in clear irritation. "Salazar Slytherin is the origin of all evil."

Lily let out a deep sigh, shaking her head in annoyance, as she contradicted, "You should know better than that. I'm anything but a dark witch."

"I can't believe it," James groaned, theatrically throwing his hands into the air. "My wife is a Slytherin. Oh Merlin, I wonder what Sirius is going to say to this news."

"Just to remind you, I was a Gryffindor at Hogwarts, but nevertheless, Harry and I are descendants of Salazar," Lily emphasized. "Anyway, will you help me making copies of ourselves? I don't have a clue how to do such a thing. I can't wait to be able to travel to Slytherin Manor first thing in the morning, where Salazar will hopefully be able and willing to help us."

"Ah but Lils, maybe your visions aren't even true," James dismissed her concerns with a wave of his hand. "Let's rather see to it that Harry gets a small sibling."

 _'Which would only possibly work if I managed to make at least a copy of myself,'_ Lily thought in annoyance, however, decided to give in to James' demands and wishes, knowing that she would not be able to efficiently continue working on difficult charms if he was around anyway. _'At least I still have tomorrow, and maybe it won't even happen on Halloween,'_ she thought, trying to remember if there had been any Halloween decorations in her vision, but she could not recall anything as unimportant as decorations. _'I just hope Salazar will be able and willing to help me tomorrow,'_ she mused, as she absentmindedly followed James into the bedroom.

HP

In the morning of Halloween, Lily travelled to Diagon Alley with Baby Harry to meet Amelia in front of Gringotts.

"You're free to access Slytherin Manor," Buckbean informed her. "There are about a dozen house-elves there, who have kept the house in a good shape. I've connected the fireplace to the Floo network. However, I suggest placing the property under the Fidelius charm."

"I could cast the Fidelius with you as the Secret Keeper," Amelia spoke up, causing Lily to sigh in relief.

"Yes, please do so, Amelia," she agreed immediately.

"You also urgently need to renew the bond with the house-elves. I spoke with them yesterday, and head house-elf Spirit told me that she knows how to do it," Buckbean said, gently. "If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me."

"Thank you so much, Buckbean," Lily replied, gratefully. "Since we don't have much time, I think we're going to head there right away."

HP

Five minutes later, she stepped out of the fireplace into a large entrance hall, holding Baby Harry firmly in her arms.

"Let's go and cast the Fidelius first of all," Lily suggested, once Amelia arrived behind her.

However, before they could move from their spots, a group of house-elves gathered around them bowing deeply. Lily quickly introduced herself as the Lady Slytherin.

"Mistress Slytherin," one of the elves spoke up. "I is Spirit, the head house-elf of Slytherin Manor. We is twelve elves, and we'd like to ask you to renew the bond. It hasn't been renewed in five hundred years, and we've been several generations of elves, so we feel very weak due to the missing of the bond."

"Of course, Spirit," Lily agreed, giving her a questioning look. "What do I need to do?"

"Oh, Mistress Lily only needs to give Spirit her approval, then Spirit wills be able to renew the bond," the elf squeaked in apparent excitement, and five minutes later, Lily found herself bonded to a group of a dozen house-elves.

"It's kind of a happy feeling," she muttered to Amelia, who was standing next to her patiently waiting for her to finish her business with the elves.

"Cans Spirit serve some tea for Mistress Lily and her visitor?" Spirit enquired, causing the witches to exchange a look.

"First of all, we need to cast the Fidelius charm on the manor, and afterwards, we urgently need to speak with Salazar. Is it possible to take our tea in a room, where we have access to his portrait?" Lily enquired.

"Mistress Lily," Spirit replied with apparent enthusiasm, "a painting of Salazar, his wife Helga and their two friends is occupying the dining room. Tea wills be served there."

"Dolly," she called out to a seemingly young elf, who was equally proudly wearing a one-piece with an embroidery of the Slytherin crest on the front, "show Mistress Lily and her guest outside the wards first and then to the dining room."

"Mistress Lily and Mistress Lily's guest, please comes with me," Dolly addressed them, causing Lily to inwardly groan.

"Dolly, please just call me Lily, and this is my friend Amelia," she instructed the small elf, sighing in relief, when they stepped outside.

Amelia immediately began to cast the Fidelius charm. When she slipped her wand back into her robe, she motioned Lily to write the address on a small parchment. "Otherwise, I won't be able to follow you back into the manor," she admitted, smirking.

"Oh of course," Lily replied and quickly conjured a small parchment, on which she noted the manor's address.

HP

Ten minutes later, Lily and Amelia made themselves comfortable in chairs that were facing a large painting of the four founders of Hogwarts, and Lily addressed Salazar and his colleagues.

"Hello Professors Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Gryffindor, I am Lily Evans, Salazar's and Helga's heiress," she explained, before apologizing. "I'm sorry that it took me such a long time to get here, but I only learned of my relationship to you yesterday. This is my good friend Amelia Bones, and the little one," she lifted Baby Harry out of her robes, where he had been peacefully asleep, "is my son Harry. As far as I know, Harry is the heir of all four of you."

"Hello Lily," Helga was the first to greet her many times great granddaughter, "hello Amelia and Harry. We're very glad to have you here after so many centuries of quiet."

"No heir of Helga and Salazar has come here for about five hundred years," Rowena spoke up. "Harry is really important for us though, as he's indeed the heir of all of us, and I'm very pleased to meet him."

"Our line is frequented by Squibs, however, we don't really have time to talk, as I urgently need Salazar's help," Lily replied and explained about her visions and Voldemort's threat.

"Nothing easier than that," Salazar sneered, before he pointed a wand at Godric and hissed something in Parseltongue.

Lily stared at the old wizard in surprise, while Amelia gasped, when an exact copy of Godric appeared next to Salazar.

"That's it?" Lily enquired, staring at the people in the painting.

"That's it?" Amelia repeated in disbelief. "That was just some hissing."

"That was Parseltongue," Helga informed her in a soft voice.

"Did you understand that?" Amelia enquired, giving Lily a sharp look.

"Yes of course," Lily replied, matter-of-factly. "Sorry, but what is Parseltongue?"

"Snake language," Salazar replied, grinning. "It's a trait of the Slytherin line and means that you can speak with snakes. If you have the chance, you should go to Hogwarts and check on my familiar. Amaterasu lives in my secret chamber, and since she's a basilisk, she should still be well in this time."

"The monster living in the Chamber of Secrets," Amelia blurted out, before she clasped her hand in front of her mouth in shock.

"Monster?" Salazar growled.

"Oh, I'm sorry, sir, it's just that about forty years ago, the chamber was opened and a student died by a so-called monster living in the Chamber of Secrets," Amelia explained.

"That means that someone must have forced her out into the castle," Salazar replied, pensively. "Amaterasu would never willingly access the castle. She knows that people die just by looking at her. I always cast a charm over the grounds and the school, so that she couldn't harm anyone; however, I suppose that charm hasn't been re-cast during the last couple of years."

"Could you teach us please, so that we could prevent your familiar from killing anyone else?" Amelia asked in a soft voice.

"Of course; Amaterasu must have felt horrible, when that happened. She is a real cutie," Helga replied on Salazar's behalf, realising that her husband seemed shocked by the revelation.

"Lily, why don't you try out Professor Slytherin's spell to make a copy of yourself?" Amelia suggested, knowing that they had to hurry, as it would soon be time for Harry to take a nap and for her to head to work.

"It's not easy to cast it at yourself," Salazar said, sighing. "Unfortunately, only a Parselmouth can cast it, and I'm only able to cast spells within the range of our painting," he added, vanishing the second Godric with a flick of his wand.

"Try to cast it at your friend first," Helga suggested, looking at Amelia.

"Go on," Amelia said, giving Lily an encouraging nod.

Repeating Salazar's spell, Lily produced a flawless copy of Amelia, only to banish it again quickly. However, casting at herself was difficult.

An hour later, she realised that it was very difficult and gladly accepted that Amelia, who had already fed Harry, made him sleep in a children's bed in the nursery, which the elves had kindly prepared for him.

By the time Harry woke up and Amelia fetched him, before she had to leave for work, Lily realised that it was almost impossible to cast the spell at herself.

Telling Harry, who clearly wanted her attention, to wait for a moment, Lily quickly made a copy of Harry, so that Harry and his copy could play together for a little while, while she continued trying to cast the spell at herself.

It was already slowly getting dark, when she began to panic, as she still had not managed to make the copy of herself and knew that she and Harry had to return home very soon.

All of a sudden, her fifteen-month-old son, not used to his mummy completely ignoring him for what seemed to be a stupid spell, began to throw a temper tantrum. Throwing both hands towards his mummy, wanting her to pick him up, he hissed at his mother whatever she had been hissing the whole afternoon in a faint attempt to gain her attention.

Before Lily knew what happened, an exact copy of herself was standing next to her, and the people in the painting began to greatly commend Harry for some well-done magic.

"That was very well done, Harry. Thank you so much," she blurted out, tears leaking from her eyes in relief, as she pulled her son into a bear hug.

"'Kay, Mummy," Harry replied, letting out a yawn.

"Lily," Lily turned to her copy, "do you know everything that I do? I mean, about the ritual and everything?"

"Yes," Copy Lily replied, solemnly. "Shall I take Copy Harry and head home?"

"Yes please," Lily agreed. "Could you please cast the copying spell at James and send the original here?"

"Of course," her doppelganger promised, before she took Copy Harry and headed to the fireplace to floo to the house at Godric's Hollow.

"I just hope everything will go well," Lily thought aloud, as she pulled an exhausted Harry into her arms. _'He probably depleted his magic helping me,'_ she thought, gently caressing the baby's soft cheeks.

"Why don't you make yourselves comfortable in the Parlour?" Rowena suddenly spoke up. "It's much more relaxed than here, and there's a large painting, into which we can slip at any time."

"Would you mind keeping me some company?" Lily asked, teary-eyed.

"Of course, we will," Helga was the first to reply, and Lily felt very much reassured by the four people's kindness.

Heading over to the Parlour, which she had already seen upon arriving at the manor, Lily lowered herself into one of the comfortable looking sofas, gently cradling Baby Harry close.

"I just hope your daddy will make it out of there too and come here soon," she whispered to Harry, who had already drifted off to sleep.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your overwhelming reviews for the first chapter. Please tell me: Do you want me to save James? My original intention was to not save him; however, seeing all of your kind reviews, I wish to ask you for your opinion._


	3. Copies

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, maybe Dumbledore bashing_

* * *

James was standing in the kitchen, wondering where Lily and Harry were. _'They should be home any minute now,'_ he thought, deciding to get a head start on making dinner.

He looked up in surprise, when Lily stumbled out of the fireplace, Baby Harry in her arms, and, without even brushing the soot from their robes, pointed her wand at him.

"Lily, what's wrong?" he asked in confusion. ' _That's not Lily's wand_ ,' he realised, horrified, however, did not even have a chance to doubt her identity, when she began to speak.

"I need to make a copy of you. Leave the copy here and floo to Slytherin Manor as fast as possible," Lily blurted out, already casting the spell.

James stared at his doppelganger in shock, his mind still trying to understand what that hissing sound had been.

"James, you must leave," Lily said, urgently, and told him the address of the manor, just before the entrance door was blasted open.

"Lily, it's him," James shouted. "Take Harry and run."

"You leave. I'm only a copy of my real self, and so is Harry," Lily whispered, before she ran upstairs, carrying Harry in her arms.

HP

Reaching the second floor, Lily placed Harry into his crib in order to be better able to defend themselves. She realised in relief that her son seemed not to be upset at all but immediately began to cuddle his teddy. Lily carefully listened to the sounds coming from downstairs. ' _Oh Merlin, James needs to leave. His copy must handle this,'_ she thought in utter annoyance, when a sudden thought crossed her mind.

Glad that the wand, which the real Lily had made her choose from the spare wands at Slytherin manor, worked quite well for her, she cast an invisibility spell as well as a silencing spell at herself. She tiptoed half-way downstairs, from where she could see how Voldemort was fighting against James and his copy, firing one killing curse after the next. James and his copy were eagerly dodging and firing curses back; however, Lily was horrified. She quickly cast the copying spell three times in succession, making three more copies of James.

 _'I hope that reminds him that he's the original and must leave, before Voldemort kills him_ ,' she thought, terrified, as she hurried back upstairs. Cancelling the invisibility and silencing spells, she stepped towards Harry's crib, noticing that the baby had fallen asleep.

 _'Thank Merlin he's only a copy just like myself,'_ she thought, worriedly listening to the sounds of the fight. Protectively wrapping her arms around herself, she stood there, waiting.

Suddenly, the sounds of the fight stopped, and the next moment, she heard heavy footsteps climbing up the stairs.

"Take me and leave my baby in peace," she shouted, protectively standing in front of the crib.

"Step aside, you foolish woman," the evil wizard demanded, mumbling something like sparing her.

However, Lily did not budge, well aware about the sacrifice that the real Lily had prepared.

Apparently, Voldemort's patience was at its limit after fighting and killing several James persons downstairs, and the green light of the killing curse headed her way.

An instant later, she succumbed to the curse, unaware that the killing curse towards Baby Harry backfired to the Dark Lord as intended.

HP

As much as the four founders of Hogwarts tried to distract her, Lily could not help worrying what was happening at Godric's Hollow. James did not show up, and Lily wondered if her copy had been too late to make a copy of him or what might have happened to prevent him from fleeing.

Thankfully, Harry seemed to be sleeping for the night, and Lily carefully laid him next to her onto the sofa, where she gently tucked him in, knowing that if he was awake, he would surely sense her panic. The Wizarding Wireless, which Spirit had brought for her after Copy Lily had left with Copy Harry, was playing pleasantly soft music.

Several hours passed, and all of a sudden, the Wizarding Wireless interrupted its broadcast for urgent news.

Pointing her wand at the device, Lily turned up the volume.

"The magical world is celebrating. Earlier this evening, You-Know-Who went to attack the Potter family. While unfortunately, Lord and Lady Potter died in the attack, Baby Harry is the first person ever to survive a killing curse. And not only that, the curse backfired and hit You-Know-Who, who is assumed to have been killed in the process, even if no body was found," the reporter announced, causing Lily to look at her baby with a combination of pride, relief and sadness.

Just a moment later, Amelia strode into the room, taking in the scene in front of her.

"Lily, are you all right?" she enquired, giving her friend a concerned look.

"Upon hearing that news?" Lily scoffed, only to apologize and assure her friend that Harry and she were well. "James must be dead though. I was too slow," she added and told Amelia how Harry had finally managed to make her copy in a huge bout of accidental magic. "Maybe by the time they returned home, Voldemort was already about to come, so that she couldn't make a copy of him. Has the copy of Harry been taken to Sirius?" she enquired, wondering how long the copy was going to last.

"No," Amelia replied in a grave voice, before she informed her friend about the fight between Sirius and Peter.

"Sirius wasn't our Secret Keeper. It was Peter," Lily stated in bewilderment.

"Ahh, Sirius is so stupid," Amelia replied, her voice laced with anger. "Since he killed Pettigrew, everyone believed Dumbledore that he was your Secret Keeper. I think they took him to the ministry with the intention to throw him into Azkaban. Believe me, I'm very upset. What a stupid git."

"As much as I always found him irresponsible, I don't think that Sirius would kill anyone," Lily insisted. "Can you please check the details again tomorrow?"

"I will," Amelia promised, "even if I'm only in my first year as an Auror and no one is going to listen to me."

"Thanks, Meli. So, where's Harry now?" Lily enquired.

"I'm not sure," Amelia admitted. "I suppose that Dumbledore took him to Hogwarts for the time being, but I'm not sure."

"My ladies," Godric suddenly spoke up. "Do you wish me to join my portrait in the headmaster's office at Hogwarts and check if I can get some news on the copy?"

"Oh, that would be just great," Lily replied, eagerly. "Thanks so much, Godric."

HP

If Voldemort was not disturbed by the fact that he was facing two James, he surely became distracted when three more copies all of a sudden appeared out of the blue and began to fight him. James let himself sink to the floor right after dodging another killing curse. Trying as hard as he could to not move, even when Voldemort went upstairs and tried to kill the copies of Lily and Harry, he feigned his own death. He saw two or even three strings of green light pass the room upstairs, however, only after everything became quiet and remained noiseless for a moment, he hurriedly rose from his spot and stumbled around the debris towards the fireplace. Unfortunately, he realised that, probably due to the damages that the fights had caused in the house, the fireplace was not working anymore.

 _'Oh Merlin, what am I going to do? We probably need to feign being dead and mustn't been seen by anyone. At least I must speak with Lily, before talking to anyone else,'_ he thought and quickly vanished three of the four dead copies before apparating out of the house.

Fortunately, Lily's copy had told him the address of Slytherin manor; nevertheless, he did not know the area well enough to directly apparate there and ended up having to walk quite a bit through the night. _'It's fairly cold tonight,'_ he realised, regretting that he had not thrown his warm robes over before leaving the ruin of their home.

HP

Lily and Amelia had just proceeded to replace their tea cups with whiskey glasses, when Spirit entered the room with a much alive James in tow.

"James!" Lily blurted out, before giving him a sharp look. "Are you all right?" she queried, impatiently crossing the room to let herself be pulled into his embrace and feel that he was really alive and well.

"Yes, it's me," James replied, gently pulling his wife close. "Thank you so much for saving my life, Lils."

Lily slowly released herself from his embrace, vehemently shaking her head. "No James, you don't have to thank me. Thank Salazar and Harry for saving both of us."

James cast her a surprised look, protesting, "But it was your copy who made the copies of myself."

"Copies?" Lily asked, incredulously, sighing in relief upon hearing the story how five versions of James had fought together.

"Are you not hurt?" she queried, looking him all over.

"No, he didn't bother with injuring spells; he only cast the killing curse over and over," James replied, sighing. "He didn't even check that I was really dead."

"Thank Merlin, you're all right," she sighed and told him how Salazar had taught her the spell and how Harry had cast it at her in a bout of accidental magic, when she inefficiently tried to cast it at herself again and again.

"You're so small and already a hero, Prongslet," James cooed, as he leaned over the baby who was fast asleep in spite of the commotion around him.

"That he is," Lily agreed, smiling.

"Peter!" James suddenly blurted out. "He's the traitor. I'm sorry, Lils, I never suspected him. I'm going to go…"

"James," Lily interrupted him in a strict voice. "Tonight, you're not going anywhere. My great grandfather, my son and I did not save your life to have you let yourself being killed elsewhere."

"Well, tomorrow is another day," James relented and made himself comfortable between her and Harry on the sofa.

"I'm going to be the one to confront Pettigrew if he's still alive," Amelia informed him, "considering that you can't very well return to the Aurors tomorrow."

"Why not?" James asked, outraged.

"James," Lily spoke up, sighing. "The spells which I used aren't exactly known spells. They're Parseltongue spells, which were invented and used a millennium ago. Plus, there's the copy of Harry, which is probably going to be worshipped as a hero by the whole magical community of Britain. Everyone assumes us to be dead. We must go into hiding and remain hidden, at least until Harry enters Hogwarts if not longer."

"The evil one is not gone yet. I've had visions of fights between a much bigger Harry and him in the future," Rowena suddenly spoke up. "You'll probably have to remain in hiding until he'll be really gone."

"Sirius and I will help you," Amelia assured her friends, causing Lily to give her a grateful look.

HP

It was almost morning, when Godric returned and informed them that Baby Harry, respectively the copy of him, had been taken to the Dursleys and been placed on their doorstep. "Apparently, he has a big curse scar on his forehead," he added, shrugging.

"On their doorstep?" James roared in disbelief. "Does he know that it was awfully cold during the night?"

"Moreover, what does Dumbledore think he's doing completely ignoring my will?" Lily growled. "I explicitly wrote that Harry is not to be placed with Petunia but with Alice, Amelia, Sirius or Minerva. Thank Merlin it's only a copy," she added, feeling extremely angry at the headmaster of Hogwarts. "I wonder how long the copy will last at all."

"That depends on the amount of magic you put into the spell," Salazar spoke up. "Maybe it's only two months, perhaps it's as much as five, since your magic should be quite strong, considering that you're my descendant. He'll probably just vanish from the spot at some stage."

"Salazar," Lily replied, letting out a long sigh, "thank you so much for saving Harry, James and me. It means a lot to us to be able to raise our child ourselves."

"You're welcome," her great grandfather replied, smirking. "Don't you think you should introduce your husband to us though?"

"I think so, too, considering that he's Rowena's and my heir," Godric added.

Lily quickly complied, feeling extremely grateful that neither Amelia nor their great grandparents brought up the topic of Sirius, knowing that Amelia would see to the matter first thing in the morning anyway.

HP

During the following day, Amelia tried to prevent Barty Crouch and Minister Bagnold from throwing Sirius into Azkaban without a trial.

 _'If Crouch kicks me out from the Aurors, I'll find something else,'_ she told herself and decided to fight for her good friend Lily as well as for her boyfriend Sirius.

"Dumbledore said Black was the Secret Keeper," Crouch contradicted.

"That's not true though," Amelia insisted and showed him a small parchment.

 _'Dear Amelia,  
please keep this in case proof is needed that Peter is our Secret Keeper and not Sirius.  
_ _Thanks  
_ _Lily Potter'_

"May I cast a spell to confirm that it's authentic?" Crouch enquired.

"Of course," Amelia replied, smiling, knowing that Lily had charmed it to display the thirtieth of October as date.

"Very well, I'll arrange for Black to have a trial during the next few days," Crouch decided, causing Amelia to profoundly thank her boss.

HP

"Lily, James," Amelia hesitantly spoke up, when they were having dinner together at Slytherin Manor the same evening. "Will you let Sirius in on the secret?"

"Should we?" Lily enquired, as she gently mashed some carrots for Harry. "Frankly speaking, I really don't know what to do. Everyone knows that we're supposed to be dead. I was thinking about registering myself under the name Elizabeth Slytherin, but what about you, James, and what about Harry?"

"You could change his name to Harry Potter-Slytherin," Amelia suggested. "I suppose that you'd feel bad taking the name Potter from him."

"Too bad that James didn't already claim the Gryffindor lordship," Lily replied, sighing. "Apart from that, Harry officially is the heir to the noble and most ancient houses of Potter, Slytherin and Gryffindor now that James and I are officially dead."

"He's not," James contradicted. "The magic will know that we're not dead, even if the wizarding world believes it. He wouldn't be able to wear the rings even if he could access them, which he can't, as we're wearing them. Except for the Gryffindor ring that is."

"Maybe we should let Buckbean in on the secret," Lily added, letting out a long sigh.

"That's true," Amelia agreed. "He was the one who told you about your heritage and suggest that you should ask Professor Slytherin for help."

"Amelia, would you and Sirius perhaps agree to live with us here at Slytherin Manor?" James suddenly asked. "I think that Lily and I would somehow not only feel safer but also nearer to real life, as if it was just the three of us."

"Of course, we'd be happy to live here together with you if you're sure," Amelia promised, smiling. "First of all, we'll have to get Sirius free though."

"Of course I'd prefer to move to Potter Manor," James added, glancing at his wife, "but I suppose that's not possible under the circumstances?"

"No," Lily replied, sighing. "Dumbledore and several other people have been to Potter Manor and know of its existence and location. It would be the first place for them to come looking for us if there was any doubt about our status."

"Yeah, you're right as usual," James acknowledged before gently kissing her.

HP

A couple of days later, Sirius had a trial. Due to Amelia's insistence, he was questioned under Veritaserum and was finally deemed innocent of the fiasco of All Hallows Eve.

Unfortunately, his first step, before even talking to Amelia, was to go to Hogwarts and confront Dumbledore.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your overwhelming reviews for the last chapter, especially to the kind readers who corrected my mistakes. The majority wanted me to save James, so there you are. Several readers voiced their opinions concerning Severus Snape and a possible relationship with Lily. Well, he won't have any, at least not a romantic relationship. I'm not certain if I want him evil or not evil yet, so any opinions will be welcome. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and your expectations for this story - it really helps my muse to continue writing._


	4. The Godfather

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, maybe Dumbledore bashing_

* * *

Albus Dumbledore flooed back to Hogwarts, wondering why his plot of sending Sirius to Azkaban without as much as a trial had failed. ' _Strange,'_ he mused, _'the other day, Millicent assured me that he was going to be taken to the prison right away. I wonder what happened. I just hope he's going to leave Harry live with his relatives. It wouldn't do him well to be raised by a Marauder. I want to be the one to teach him about the magical world and about his destiny. Considering that his scar seems to be a part of Tom, he even has to die to get rid of the part, before I can get rid of Tom forever,_ ' he thought, unaware of the fact that he had thought aloud, let alone of the unusual interest with which Godric Gryffindor was listening to him from his portrait.

He inwardly groaned, when the Know-it-all of a Sorting Hat informed him that Sirius Black was standing in front of the gargoyle demanding entrance. Waving his hand to allow the annoying busy body gargoyle to let the man in, he mentally prepared himself for the soon to come discussion.

"Dumbledore, you manipulating, old coot," Sirius greeted him, seemingly outraged. "How dare you tell the Aurors that I was their Secret Keeper? James was my brother in everything but blood. I'd never betray him or Lily."

"I'm sorry, Sirius," Albus replied, thoughtfully letting his hand run through his long hair. "At that moment, I didn't recall otherwise."

"And then, even going further, you were ready to have me thrown into Azkaban for a life sentence? Without as much as a trial?" Sirius roared in apparent disbelief and anger.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," Albus repeated, offering the enraged young wizard a lemon drop to perhaps soothe the man's mind.

"Don't lemon drop me, Dumbledore," Sirius growled. "Where's my godson?"

Albus let out a long sigh. "Harry is living with his relatives. He survived the killing curse because of his mother's sacrifice, and her blood, which also runs in her sister Petunia's veins, will keep him save," he tried to explain, hoping to sound firmer than he actually felt.

He looked up in relief, when Minerva entered the room. _'Thank Merlin, she'll back me up, even if she's still upset with me because of placing Harry with the muggles_ ,' he thought, while Minerva and Sirius exchanged a greeting.

"I fully agree with Sirius," Minerva spoke up, firmly. "The Dursleys are the worst muggles imaginable, and there's no need to place Harry there if his godfather is able to take him in."

Albus let out a deep sigh. "Ahh, the two of you don't understand," he continued to explain, "Voldemort isn't really gone, and Harry is in dire need of the blood protection. He will remain at the Dursleys, and that's my last word. If any of you go there and do as much as speak to him let alone take him from there, I'll see to it that you end up in Azkaban."

"Albus!" Minerva exclaimed, clearly shocked.

"Just stay away from Harry. It's the best for him and for the greater good. Good day, Sirius," he dismissed the young man, knowing that he did not have any better argument at hand than the greater good.

Sirius swiftly headed out of the office without a further word, and Minerva followed him, glaring at Albus as she left.

Putting his head in his hands, Albus let out a long sigh. _'Oh Merlin, it's going to be some long years, before the boy will come to Hogwarts as a first-year,_ ' he thought, hoping that everything would go according to his meddling.

HP

"Thank Merlin, the real Harry doesn't have a scar," Lily commented once Godric had relayed the story of Albus' and Sirius' conversation to her, James and Amelia.

"That's true. Dumbledore put up a real fight with Sirius," Godric continued, "and even threatened him and Minerva in case they went to the Dursleys to retrieve little Harry."

Amelia rose from her chair in determination. "Please excuse me for a moment; I'll go and fetch Sirius here, before he does any nonsense."

HP

It was already evening, when Amelia returned with Sirius in tow after finding him in his Animagus form near the Dursleys' residence.

"Why didn't you save James and take Harry here with you?" Sirius bellowed at Lily, causing the young witch to see red.

"You stupid git, you can be glad that Amelia managed to prevent them from sending you to Azkaban," Lily hissed, before relaying that James had already retreated to the Master Suite together with Harry.

"James is alive?" Sirius asked, wide-eyed. "Sorry Lily. Amelia was only speaking about you, so I thought..." He slowly trailed off. "Harry has been taken to the Dursleys," he spoke up again. "Dumbledore said he had to remain there."

Lily let out a long sigh, before she explained everything about the copies that they had made earlier. "The Harry at the Dursleys is only a copy, which won't even last until he has to go to Hogwarts."

Sirius listened, open-mouthed. "Oh thank Merlin, and if the copy's still alive by that time, we'll just hide him somewhere," he quickly decided.

"He won't," Lily emphasized, rolling her eyes at the impulsive young wizard. "According to Salazar, he's going to vanish in a few months' time."

"Salazar?" Sirius enquired, looking at the painting of the four founders of Hogwarts with apparent scepticism.

"Sirius, we already covered that particular topic," Amelia admonished him lightly.

"Anyway, we'll need to teach the real Harry well, so that Dumbledore won't be able to manipulate him," Sirius decided.

Lily nodded. "We'll see to it," she promised to the godfather, herself and most importantly to her baby.

"Sirius, I'm going to live here at Slytherin Manor together with Lily, James and Harry, who obviously are in hiding. Are you going to behave and live here together with us?" Amelia asked, glaring at him.

"Of course. I'm sorry, but Dumbledore just made me very upset," Sirius apologized. "I'd be happy if I could stay with the three of you and my godson. At least I get to assist raising him."

"And his brother," Lily spoke up in a barely audible voice. Seeing Amelia cast her an incredulous look, she explained, "Harry might be going to be a big brother next summer."

Amelia gasped, muttering, "Oh Merlin."

"What?" Sirius gasped.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure yet, as it's only five days, but I can feel that the magic around my stomach has changed," Lily said in a soft voice. "The question remains of what surname we should take for the children."

"Slytherin of course," Salazar spoke up, sneering from the founders' portrait.

"I believe that we're in for a weekend of planning your future," Amelia said, inefficiently trying to hide a yawn. "For now, however, I suggest that we turn in for the night."

Lily looked at her friends, feeling extremely grateful for their company. "Spirit," she called the head elf, "please prepare the adjacent room to Amelia's for Sirius."

As soon as the elf popped away, Lily went upstairs to join her family in the master suite. Half-way upstairs, she heard Sirius moan.

"Do we really need separate rooms, Meli?"

 _'I really don't want to know,'_ Lily thought, as she firmly closed the door to the master suite behind her.

HP

The following days were spent making plans for Lily's and James' future.

"First of all, I'm going to invent some kind of charm that'll allow us to venture outside of the manor," Lily said in determination.

"Oh please do so," James replied, theatrically throwing his hands into the air. "I can't imagine being held prisoner here for a decade or more," he uttered, sounding slightly depressed.

"You won't," Lily promised, sighing in exasperation. _'Sometimes, I wonder who's the child here,'_ she thought in annoyance, for once glad that Sirius was trotting around the room in his dog form giving an enthusiastic Harry a ride.

The Wireless had reported about the attack on Alice and Frank Longbottom, and Lily would have loved to take Baby Neville, her godson, in; however, there was no way for her to travel to Longbottom Manor let alone visit her best friend at St. Mungo's. She had spent half of the night crying, berating herself that she had not been able to predict what was going to happen in order to possibly save her best friend from being attacked.

"I'd love to take Neville in or at least have him visit," she said, pensively, when the four adults conferred about the matter. "The problem is that I don't know if we can trust Augusta to not give us out to Dumbledore."

"Yeah, she seems quite close to the meddling old coot," James agreed, sighing.

"If you want, I can go and visit Augusta and ask her if she's willing to swear me a witch's oath to keep my secret," Amelia suggested. "Only if I get her oath, I'll tell her the truth about you and ask her to visit you together with Neville."

"That's a great idea," Lily agreed immediately, quickly scribbling their address on a small piece of parchment for Amelia to hand to Augusta Longbottom later on.

James nodded. "Thanks Amelia, please do so," he added, smiling.

HP

"After you've got all these things into order, I'm going to work together with you," Salazar suddenly spoke up. "You'll take your mastery in Potions, and then you can sell potions to the apothecaries out there. Since I never published my recipes, I suppose that many of my inventions should be lost in this time."

Lily looked up at the painting of their ancestors with an expression of utmost hope. "Thank you, Salazar. That would be wonderful. I'd really love becoming a Potions Mistress under your tutelage."

"Sounds good," James agreed, pensively. "I don't have a clue what I could do though, apart from teaching Harry."

"Would you perhaps be willing to study something?" Godric enquired, giving James a strict look.

"Study what?" James queried, quirking an eyebrow. "Definitely not Potions," he added, firmly.

"I have an idea," Sirius said, after quickly changing back into his human form under huge protests from his godson. "A few weeks ago, I overheard a conversation between three professional Quidditch players in the Leaky Cauldron. They were complaining that they approached Cleansweep and Nimbus with an idea for new brooms, but neither of them agreed to make them."

"What kind of brooms?" James enquired, looking at his best friend, wide-eyed.

Sirius grinned. "They wanted them to make different brooms for each of the positions," he explained. "You know a Chaser would want different features in a broom than a Seeker and so on."

"Oh Merlin, that's brilliant," James agreed, eagerly. "The only problem is that I don't have a clue how to produce brooms."

"I have an idea," Godric spoke up from the painting. "Please give me a few days to enquire if they'd willing to teach you."

"Who?" James queried, giving his ancestor a questioning look.

"Is it who I think you mean?" Helga spoke up, causing Godric to nod.

"Would you speak with them, Helga?" he asked. "Don't mention Lily's and James' names though, unless they agree."

Helga nodded, before she left the painting without further ado.

HP

One of the first actions Lily and James took was to ask Amelia to invite Buckbean to Slytherin Manor. _'Thank Merlin we have Amelia,'_ Lily thought, as she handed her friend a small parchment with the address of Slytherin Manor.

Later the same day, the goblin stepped out of the fireplace, and Spirit lead him into the Parlour, where Lily and James met with him, leaving Harry in the care of Dolly.

"We'd like to change our names to Sebastian and Elizabeth Slytherin and Harry's name to Harry Potter-Slytherin-Gryffindor," Lily informed the goblin, who gave James a sharp look.

"Lord Potter, would you be willing to accept the lordship of the noble and most ancient house of Gryffindor?" he enquired.

"If that's possible without anyone knowing about it, yes please," James replied, giving his account manager a questioning look.

Buckbean nodded in understanding, and ten minutes later, Lily and James were wearing the rings of the lady and lord of three noble and most ancient houses.

"I can't believe that I'm the Lord Slytherin now," James muttered, rolling his eyes in apparent annoyance.

 _'Behave yourself,'_ Lily thought, however, knew better than to voice her opinion in front of their guest.

Buckbean promised to see to all the changes and reminded the young parents to charm their registries within the Ministry of Magic accordingly.

"I'll do that. The charm isn't a problem," Lily replied, smiling. "I also need to charm the book of magical children at Hogwarts to not display Harry's full name."

"Oh Merlin, I'd have forgotten about that," James admitted, giving his wife a look of pure admiration.

HP

On Saturday morning, Amelia went to visit Augusta Longbottom.

"Thank you, Amelia, for visiting me in these dark times," the old lady greeted her, as they made themselves comfortable in the Parlour of Longbottom Manor.

Baby Neville was sitting on the sofa, looking at a baby book of plants. Amelia observed in amusement how a smile crossed the young boy's face, whenever he touched parts of a plant, which were laid out in different materials. Some of them even made sounds, and Neville seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself.

"Thank you for having me," Amelia replied, gently, before she let out a deep sigh and prepared herself to ask what she had to do against her better conscience. _'I don't know how I'd take it if she asked such a thing of me,'_ she thought, hesitantly voicing her question. "Augusta, please don't take this badly, but would you be willing to swear me an oath to keep any secret, which I'm going to tell you today, to yourself? I know this sounds as if I didn't trust you, but it's far from that. It's just that we really don't trust Dumbledore after the occurrences of Halloween and…" She slowly trailed off and mentally prepared herself for the thunder to come, noticing that the old witch's expression had turned extremely grim.

She looked up with a combination of surprise and relief upon hearing the old witch respond.

"Amelia, I understand," Augusta said in a soft voice, gently placing her hand on her visitor's knee. "In these times, you never know."

Raising her wand, she uttered, "I swear on my magic to keep Amelia Bones' secret to myself."

"Thank you, Augusta," Amelia replied and quickly explained how Lily Potter had made copies of herself and her family, saving the Potters' lives.

"How could she know what was going to happen?" the old lady enquired, her mouth stretched to a thin line.

"Lily is a Seer and knew that they were going to be attacked," Amelia informed her, sensing that Augusta was very angry.

"If she's a Seer, why couldn't she save Frank and Alice?" Augusta thundered, glaring at her. "My children are in the long-term ward of St. Mungo's without any hope of improvement let alone healing, and others were simply able to cheat death?" she asked, incredulously. "I'm sorry, Amelia, but I don't think I wish to see them anytime soon."

"Augusta," Amelia said in a soft voice. "Alice was Lily's best friend, and I know that she cried a whole night over her berating herself for not having any visions about her and Frank being tortured. Otherwise, she'd have tried to help them. She's Neville's godmother though, and as such she'd love to help you raising him, whenever you require assistance."

When the old witch remained silent, she showed her the parchment with the address of Slytherin Manor. Closely observing Augusta's eyes taking in Lily's writing, she pocketed the parchment again, feeling that it was not safe to leave it with the stubborn old witch.

"If you ever make up your mind, please go and visit Lily and James. I'm sure that Harry would love to play with Neville again," she said in a firm voice, before she took her leave and returned home to fill Lily in on the conversation with the regent of the noble and most ancient house of Longbottom.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and your expectations for this story. Any opinions or ideas are very welcome. As I'm not ahead in writing, I'm still able to apply any wishes._


	5. The Trio

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, maybe Dumbledore bashing_

* * *

"Have you ever heard of Nicholas Flamel?" Godric spoke up from the painting, once Amelia had told everyone of Augusta Longbottom's reaction and they had thoroughly discussed the matter without any result whatsoever.

"He's mentioned on Dumbledore's chocolate frog card," James replied, pensively.

"He's a well-known master of Alchemy and the inventor of the Philosopher's stone," Lily spoke up, eagerly. "He must be about six hundred years old."

"Exactly," Godric confirmed. "He and his wife Perenelle have a small portrait of Helga in their study. Even if they both attended Beauxbatons and not Hogwarts, Perenelle relies on Helga being the best teacher for Healing of all times. Perenelle is a healer," he added as an afterthought. "Nevertheless, Helga asked Nicholas if he'd be willing to teach you."

"The Flamels are very nice people, even if very private, and they immediately agreed to teach you," Helga spoke up in a gentle voice.

"Why would a master of Alchemy be able to teach me how to make a broom?" James enquired, causing Lily to inwardly sigh.

"As an Alchemist, he's worked with different kinds of materials like, for example, gold," Godric explained, patiently. "I'm sure he'd be able to work with wood, too."

 _'Exactly,'_ Lily thought, feeling extremely glad to have the portrait of four capable magical people with them. "Would it be safe for us to trust them with our secret though? They're supposed to be close to Dumbledore," she asked, hesitantly.

Helga shook her head. "The Flames fairly cut off their relationships with Dumbledore due to his meddling in various cases, so that I believe it would be safe to trust them with your secret. I've already asked them if they'd be willing to swear an oath to keep your secret, and they agreed. Do you want me to give them your address and ask them to visit?"

"Yes please," James agreed. "I'd love to invent new brooms, and if Nicholas was able to teach me how to do such a thing, it would be amazing. We could easily attach a Quidditch pitch to the manor, considering the size of the park here."

"As long as you don't use our son to try out any of your inventions, I don't mind," Lily conceded.

"Don't worry, Lily, I'm going to do the try-outs for Prongs," Sirius promised, grinning broadly in apparent anticipation.

HP

To Lily's relief, Nicholas Flamel agreed to teach James Alchemy. With the assistance of the house-elves of Slytherin Manor, James and Nicholas built an Alchemy lab right next to the enormous Potions lab in the dungeons, where from that time onwards, the two wizards spent at least eight hours each day.

Sometimes, his wife Perenelle accompanied him and spent some time talking with Lily or playing with Harry. Harry thoroughly enjoyed himself playing with the older witch, especially after finding out that she was a tortoise Animagus and always ready to transform to please him.

 _'Thank Merlin James has found himself an occupation,_ ' Lily thought. _'I don't have much time, now that Harry is getting bigger and needs to be taught properly, and I really need my free time, when he's asleep or Perenelle, James or Sirius are playing with him, to concentrate on my research. I don't have time to babysit James, too.'_

HP

Unfortunately, one evening, Amelia and Sirius were called away, as there had been more Death Eater attacks.

When they returned very late that night, they brought little Susan with them.

"Lily," Amelia blurted out and began to sob. "They killed my whole family. Susan is the only one remaining. She's my niece."

"Oh no," Lily said, horrified, trying to get a glimpse at the baby, who was fast asleep in her aunt's arms. Gently rubbing circles into her friend's back, she added, "Thank Merlin Susan has got you."

"Yes." Amelia nodded under tears. "You're all right with her living here with us, aren't you?"

"Of course," Lily replied, smiling. "She'll grow up together with Harry. She'll never be alone."

"And you won't either," Sirius spoke up in a surprisingly soft voice. "We're now your family."

 _'I thought the war was over, when Voldemort vanished,_ ' Lily thought, horrified. ' _I hope no one else is going to be attacked in the near future.'_

HP

To Lily's relief, Harry and Susan quickly became used to living together. Both had been only children so far, and they both seemed to be happy that they now always had someone to play with.

"I'm so proud of Harry," Amelia said to Lily one day. "He treats Susan like a little princess."

"She is a little princess. She's absolutely adorable," James stated, observing the children in amusement.

"Susu!" Harry shouted, running through the Parlour, while Susan was eagerly toddling behind him.

"Hawwy pway," she replied, happily crushing on the floor next to him, when Harry leaned over and placed a sloppy kiss onto her cheek.

"That's my godson," Sirius blurted out in apparent pride, causing Lily and Amelia to roll their eyes in exasperation.

HP

It took the Lady Longbottom three weeks, before she finally contacted Amelia at the Auror office and asked her to make an appointment with Lily.

"Why exactly do we need to meet with that hag?" James enquired, when Amelia asked them at dinnertime if they wished her and Sirius to be present for their meeting with Augusta on Sunday.

"Because it's important to have allies," Amelia replied in a firm voice. "We won't be able to do anything against Dumbledore let alone Voldemort, if Dumbledore's right saying that he wasn't really gone."

"That's right, and moreover, Neville is my godson," Lily added, giving her husband a sharp look. "You and Sirius better behave, when Augusta and Neville are here."

"Don't worry, Lily, we will," Sirius assured her, glancing at Amelia, who gave him a no-nonsense look. "Witches are really scary, aren't they?" he muttered in James' direction, who chose to merely give his friend an unobtrusive nod.

HP

When Augusta stepped out of the fireplace and carefully set little Neville onto the ground, Harry dashed over to his best friend, closely followed by Susan. "Nene," he shouted in apparent excitement, pulling his friend into a hug. "Nene pway Susu an Ha."

"Oh Merlin, his speaking has really improved recently," Augusta commended the boy. "Neville doesn't speak at all yet."

Lily let out a long sigh. "I know. Alice always complained that he was a bit slower than Harry in some aspects. Harry's magic is quite strong and, considering that it's due to a child's magic that magical children are able to speak much earlier than muggle children, Neville will catch up very soon. I think by the time they're going to be two, he'll have well caught up."

"Thank you dear," Augusta said, seemingly mollified.

"Harry is also lucky to have Susan here," James added. "The two of them keep chattering day in and day out, and for the two of them, it seems to work, although no one else is able to understand them."

"Let's sit in the Parlour and have some tea," Lily suggested and led the older witch into the Parlour, where James and Sirius transformed into their Animagus forms to play with Harry, Susan and Neville.

"Thank Merlin Harry's here with you," Augusta spoke up, as she observed the children ride on the black dog. "I was horrified hearing that Albus sent little Harry to his muggle relatives."

"He even threatened Minerva and Sirius to keep away from him," Lily added, grimly. "I'm extremely upset at Albus for blatantly ignoring my will."

"Are you going to do something about it?" Augusta enquired, giving her a curious look.

Lily let out a long sigh. "Oh well, first of all, we're supposed to be dead, so there's not much that we can really do. The second point is that if he's keeping an eye on Copy Harry, it'll take time away, which he could otherwise spend finding out that we're still alive. Maybe it'll keep him occupied enough to keep away from us," she said, pensively. "I don't like that he's with Petunia; however, I'm sure that she'll at least take care of him, and he'll probably just vanish after a couple of months, maybe even before Christmas."

"Oh, then it's fine," Augusta agreed. "Albus will devastated when he just simply vanishes though."

Lily shrugged. "Well, let him search for him all over the magical world. I don't care," she replied, smirking. "Considering the circumstances, we've decided to home school Susan and Harry, and I was wondering if you were interested in home schooling Neville together with them. Would you be willing to consider it?" she asked in a soft voice.

"I don't have to consider it," Augusta replied in a firm voice. "Growing up together with Harry and Susan would be the best for Neville. Of course, I'm going to raise him myself, but I appreciate it if you could teach them together. Naturally, I'm willing to instruct the three of them myself in certain matters."

"That would be wonderful," Lily agreed. "Considering that I'm muggleborn, there are still many things, which I don't know about the rules and conventions of the magical world."

Finally, the two witches decided that Augusta should bring Neville to Slytherin Manor every second day, so that the children could play together. When the children were going to turn two in the summer, they would think about beginning to teach them.

HP

Only when Augusta and Neville returned to Longbottom Manor and Susan and Harry had been taken to the nursery for a much-needed nap, Rowena spoke up in the founders' portrait.

"Lily," she said in a grave voice. "I'm not certain of this, as I didn't have a vision that makes sense yet, however, I believe that alternate Harry's body simply vanishing might pose an enormous problem."

Lily, Amelia, James and Sirius stared at the painting in shock. "And why might that be?" James was the first to find words.

Rowena let out a long sigh. "As you know, Godric told us that he heard in the headmaster's office about a part of Voldemort being attached to little Harry's head."

"Yes," James confirmed, causing Lily to cast him an incomprehensive look.

"And?" she asked, impatiently.

Rowena let out a long sigh. "Now I don't want you to panic, but after long discussions between the four of us," she continued, pointing to her friends in the painting, "we believe that it might be something that's called a Horcrux containing a part of Voldemort's soul. You should do some research about Horcruxes. Anyway, we're not sure what's going to happen with the Horcrux in his head if Harry simply vanishes, provided that it is a Horcrux. That we don't know of course."

"If it's really a Horcrux, it probably won't just simply vanish," Salazar added, before he leaned over to Helga and pulled her into a long kiss.

The four adults shuddered at the revelation, only slightly relaxing when Rowena promised to inform them whenever she received any understandable visions about what was likely to happen.

"Oh well, there's nothing that we can do about it right now," James commented, looking up, when Harry and Susan dashed into the room. "What we need is Moony. He's the best to do research, apart from Lily that is."

"Do you want to let him in on the secret?" Lily enquired, giving the two Marauders a sharp look.

"He's one of our best friends," Sirius emphasized, "so why not?"

"Well, we assumed that one of you was a traitor, however, knowing that it was definitely Peter, we should be able to trust Remus," James added, pensively.

"No," Lily disagreed in a firm voice. "As much as I like and trust Remus, on the day after the full moon, he's not reliable at all, considering how much the transformation hurts. If anyone was to use Legilimency on him, he wouldn't be able to protect any information."

"Who would use Legilimency on him?" Sirius asked, rolling his eyes at Lily.

"Maybe Voldemort," Lily replied, sharply. "Or Dumbledore."

"Or Snape," James added, causing Sirius to nod.

"Yeah, you're right. Did you hear that Dumbledore offered Snape the Potions position at Hogwarts from January onwards?" he asked, recalling what he had heard at the ministry during the week.

"Oh, is Slughorn going to retire?" Lily asked in surprise. "Severus will be his successor then," she thought aloud. "Oh well, at least he's incredibly skilled at Potions. I wonder if he's going to be a good teacher though; maybe for the older students he will, but I can't imagine that he has much patience for the younger ones," she added as an afterthought.

"Lily," James spoke up in a firm voice, "you're not thinking about contacting him, right? I don't trust him at all, and I really don't want to jeopardize anything."

Lily shook her head. "No James, I won't contact him. I don't want to endanger anything either, and Severus has taken the Dark Mark and is now indebted to Dumbledore as well. As sad as it is, because he has been one of my best friends until our fifth year, I'm not willing to put my trust into him now."

James nodded, seemingly contented. "Well, that doesn't help us with the question if we can trust Remus though," he said, sighing. "I'd love to have him in our lives, and I'm sure Harry would be ecstatic to meet him again. His furry little problem doesn't matter to us, as I'm sure he wouldn't endanger any of us."

"Is he a werewolf?" Salazar asked, sharply. When Lily confirmed his suspicion, he chuckled, causing everyone to stare at him in irritation.

"What's so funny?" Sirius was the first to voice his annoyance.

"Lily, let's go to the lab and brew the wolvescure potion for him. You can invite him for the weekend before the next full moon and can simply cure him from lycanthropy," Salazar replied, smirking.

James looked at his son, who was sitting on the floor quietly playing with Susan. "Now Harry, shall we ask Uncle Padfoot to invite Uncle Moony to visit us?"

Harry nodded, eagerly. "Ye, Paf Mooey," he agreed, casting his father a broad smile. Turning to Susan, he explained, "Mooey pway Susu Ha."

"Wow Harry, you're really getting good with your speaking," James commended him, noticing that Susan rewarded his son with a broad smile. "Now be a good boy and say 'Daddy'."

"Mama," Harry replied, happily reaching out for his mummy.

"Well, he has to set his priorities," Sirius commented. "Godfathers are the ones who have the more interesting Animagus forms and who give the best Christmas presents, aren't they, Harry?"

Casting a little laugh at his always funny godfather, Harry abandoned his spot on the floor and made himself comfortable on his mummy's lap, hoping that the adults would finish their boring talk and play with Susan and him soon.

"Very well then, Amelia, would you mind watching Susan and Harry for a while?" Lily enquired and, seeing her friend nod in agreement, continued, "Sirius, please look for some information about Horcruxes, James, please go and speak with Remus, and I'll head to the lab and brew the wolvescure potion," Lily decided, sighing in relief, when the mischievous men for once obeyed.

Ten minutes later, she was standing in her lab, having Salazar observe her from his life size portrait on the wall, and studied the recipe for the wolvescure potion.

One of the elves, Lissy, had been taught over the generations of house-elves to assist in a potions lab, and Lily could always send Lissy to the apothecary to fetch the ingredients for her. By now, she had acquired a stock of most of the commonly used ingredients. However, upon studying the recipe in front of her, Lily frowned.

"Sheep fern?" she suddenly spoke up, giving Salazar a questioning look. "And moon berry leaves? I have never heard of these two."

Salazar sighed. "Both are quite common in our time. Maybe they don't exist anymore," he said, pensively.

"Lissy," Lily addressed the elf, "would you please check if any of the apothecaries can provide sheep fern and moon berry leaves for us?"

"Of course, Mistress Lily," Lissy replied and popped away, only to return empty-handed just a few minutes later.

"So much about healing Remus," Lily said, letting out a deep sigh, as she tried to suppress the tears of disappointment welling up in her eyes. _'Today's not my day,'_ she thought, _'first the information about the Horcrux and now this.'_

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and your expectations for this story. Any opinions or ideas are very welcome._


	6. The Sorting Hat

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, maybe Dumbledore bashing_

* * *

"There is a way you can get the ingredients," Salazar spoke up, pensively. "You need to access my lab in the founders' quarters at Hogwarts. The ingredients shelves are self-replenishing, and the ingredients are under a refreshment charm courtesy to Rowena, so that they won't expire over time. You'll find both, sheep fern and moon berry leaves, there."

Lily let out a long sigh, expressing frustration and hope at the same time.

"Thank you, Salazar," she replied, offering her ancestor a small smile. "How am I going to get to your lab at Hogwarts though? As you know, the headmaster believes us to be dead."

Salazar let out a snort. "You won't need the headmaster," he explained, grimly. "As the heir of all four of us, Harry is the owner of Hogwarts. Not only Sopho, but also the castle herself is going to obey to him – and in extension to you."

"Sopho?" Lily asked, giving the founder a questioning look.

Salazar smirked. "Sopho is the Sorting Hat. Well, I suggest that you return to the Parlour, so that we can inform your husband about the matter as well."

HP

Sirius was still absent, when Lily reached the Parlour; however, James and Remus were sitting on a sofa entertaining the children by tickling them, playfully pushing them up into the air and gently catching them again. Both children were cheering happily. Amelia was seated on the edge of the opposite sofa shaking her head in apparent exasperation. Lily smiled, knowing that James and his Marauder friends, as reckless as they were, were extremely careful and protective when it came to Harry and Susan.

Salazar quickly alerted everyone to the problem with the missing ingredients.

"There's a cure for lycanthropy?" Remus blurted out in clear disbelief.

"Apparently, Salazar invented one, and I very much hope that we'll be able to lay our hands onto the ingredients," Lily replied, smiling at her ecstatic friend.

"As the current owner of Hogwarts, little Harry should be able to call Sopho to him," Godric began to explain. "Sopho is not only the Sorting Hat, but also the main informant for the owners about everything that's happening within the school boundaries. He'll be able to keep Harry, respectively you as our heirs, updated on all matters concerning Hogwarts. He should also be able to ask Hogwarts to connect the fireplace in our quarters to the Floo network, so that you could easily access our rooms at the castle."

"Will the headmaster or anyone else at Hogwarts be able to access your quarters or know that we're at Hogwarts?" Lily asked in concern.

However, all four founders simultaneously shook their heads.

"No, our quarters are charmed to only let our heirs in. As such, you, Lily and James, would be able to floo right into our Parlour. If you want Amelia, Remus or others to visit, you must invite them. Only then, they'll be able to access our rooms," Rowena explained in a firm voice. "The headmaster, however, will not know about this. He probably isn't even aware of the existence of our rooms."

"Remus," Salazar called out to the werewolf, "I'm sorry, may I call you that?"

Remus looked up to the painting of the ancient witches and wizards and responded, "Yes, of course, Professor."

Rolling his eyes at the younger wizard, Salazar stated, "In that case, please just call me Salazar. Anyway, please tell me one thing. When is the next full moon?"

"In five days," Remus informed him, looking at the Potions Master with apprehension.

"Oh, well, then we don't have forever. We must get around to do it this weekend," Salazar said in apparent determination. Turning to his heir, he added, "Lily, why don't you try to call Sopho? Maybe he'll reply to your call, considering that you're Helga's and my heir; otherwise, you'll have to teach little Harry to call him."

' _Considering that Harry was alert enough to make a copy of myself, he'll surely be able to call the Sorting Hat,_ ' Lily thought, however, did not voice her opinion.

"Sopho!" she stated in a firm voice, causing everyone to stare at her in clear expectation, while she gave Salazar a questioning look, receiving an encouraging nod from him and his friends in return.

HP

A moment later, a well-worn antique hat was hovering in front of Lily.

"The heir of Helga and Salazar called me?" he spoke up, questioningly.

"Hello Sopho," Lily spoke up in a soft voice. "Thank you so much for coming upon my call."

"Sopho," Godric spoke up from the painting and quickly introduced Lily, James and Harry to the hat. "Please listen to each of them."

"As I did," Sopho replied, sounding annoyed.

"Thanks, Sopho," James spoke up, looking at the artefact with apparent curiosity.

"Well, does it have a reason, while I was called away from observing a most interesting fight between the old grumpy one and his deputy?" Sopho enquired, sounding slightly cranky.

"The headmaster and his deputy fight?" Amelia blurted out in apparent surprise.

Rolling his brim slightly upwards, the Hat huffed, "Ever since you feigned your death and the little one's double ended up with the muggles, Minnie-Know-it-all pulls him into a fight on a daily basis."

"Sopho, please behave yourself," Godric gently reprimanded the Hat, who further pulled up his brim.

Lily let out a gasp at the hat's revelation. "Sopho, does anyone suspect that we're alive or that the Harry at my sister's is only a copy?" she asked, urgently.

"No," Sopho replied, calmly. "I'm a powerful magical artefact, bonded to Hogwarts though, and as such I know everything about her heirs and owners."

"Thank Merlin," James expressed what Lily thought, bringing her back to the task at hand.

"Sopho, our problem is that we need to visit Hogwarts to get some ingredients from Salazar's lab at Hogwarts," she quickly explained. "Could you please ask Hogwarts to connect the fireplace of the founders' quarters to ours, so that we can access Salazar's lab?"

"Of course," Sopho stated and vanished from the sight without further ado.

HP

"What a strange artefact," James spoke up, chuckling.

"You better be polite, young man," Godric lightly reprimanded him. "It's my invention that you're ridiculing."

"Oh sorry, Grandfather, I'd never do such a thing," James replied, smirking. "You have to admit that he's a bit moody though."

"Oh well, he clearly enjoys the fights between Dumbledore and McGonagall, and you pulled him right out of one," Godric accused, causing his wife and friends to shake their heads in apparent exasperation.

Mumbling something that sounded like "Dumbledore deserves it," James returned his attention back to the children, who were busily pulling piles of books out of the bookshelf on the far wall. At least he thought so. The bottom row was already empty, and the children had just proceeded to the next shelf, he assumed, when he stared at the bookshelf in shock upon realising that the top shelf was also empty.

"Harry and Susan, just what do you think you're doing," he growled, good-naturedly. "Stop that immediately and put the books back." Knowing that the little ones would not be able to easily return the books, he decided to assist and headed over to where the children were sitting in front of the shelf.

Susan was looking at him, when Harry let out a yawn and fell head-first into Susan's lap.

"Harry?" James asked in surprise. "What happened?"

"Hawwy mashic," Susan offered, smiling.

"Let me get that straight," James concluded, "you pulled the books out of the lower shelves and Harry from the top shelf?"

Susan nodded, looking at him, wide-eyed.

James scooped Harry onto his arms and held his hand out to Susan, before he took them back to the sofa.

"Give him to me," Lily demanded, and James gently placed his son onto her lap, where the small boy curled up and continued to sleep, seemingly contented.

Susan climbed onto Amelia's lap, relaxing, when her aunt began to gently cuddle her.

"Worthy heirs of the Marauders," James mumbled, only loud enough for Remus to hear.

HP

Just then Sopho returned. Turning to Lily, he stated, "Hogwarts has now connected the fireplace in my owners' quarters to the Floo network. However, only heirs of the founders will be able to access their rooms, unless you give permission to others. Those without permission will not be aware of its existence."

"Thank you, Sopho," Lily replied, gratefully.

"You're welcome," the hat replied, before he once again left from the spot.

 _'Who knows when we'll need it,'_ she thought and stated, "Amelia and Remus, the founders' quarters can be found at Hogwarts. You may use the fireplace to the founders' quarters, whenever we need you there."

Before anyone could voice as much as a response, she addressed her husband. "James, will you accompany me to the founders' rooms?" she enquired, giving him a pleading look.

"Of course, dear," the Marauder promised, before turning to Salazar. "Salazar, are you sure that no one will see us? Do we need to put a glamour on us?"

"Rubbish," Salazar bellowed. "Who would be able to see you? None of our other heirs are alive anymore, and you won't leave our quarters."

"Salazar," Helga interrupted him, gently laying her hand onto his arm. "You must teach them the spell to cast over the school grounds for Amaterasu though."

"Oh right," Salazar accepted, frowning. "Lily, you can't leave right now. Amelia and Remus, would you be willing to go to Hogwarts and cast a spell for us?"

"Of course," Amelia and Remus agreed, giving him a questioning look.

"My familiar is probably still alive in my Chamber of Secrets," Salazar explained, "and I'd like Lily to check on her. However, there are some precautions that need to be done."

During the following twenty minutes, Salazar taught Amelia and Remus a spell, which they had to cast at a dummy that Lily conjured on his orders. Only when the dummy's head turned green every time the spell was cast, he deemed Amelia and Remus able to properly cast it.

"There's only one spot behind the lake, from where you can see both the most left tower and the furthest tower on the right side of the castle," he explained, demanding, "Cast the spell exactly from that spot, and cast it together."

When Amelia and Remus headed to Hogwarts, Salazar informed Lily and James, "This spell has to be renewed every ten years. The next time, Harry can do it, as he will be a student at Hogwarts by then. We must, however, teach him beforehand and make him aware of the fact that he has to renew it on time."

HP

By the time their two friends returned from the Hogwarts grounds, Sirius had returned with a shrunken pile of books, and it was already dinner time. Therefore, Lily and James decided to visit the founders' quarters first thing the next morning.

 _'Maybe I'll be able to brew the potion before Christmas,'_ Lily thought, as she waited for her husband in front of the fireplace. _'It would be Remus' best Christmas present ever.'_

"Sorry Lils," James apologised, when he finally showed up. "It just took me some time to convince Sirius to not put up a Christmas tree in the nursery."

"Of course not," Lily replied, slightly upset. "What is he thinking if he's thinking at all?"

"It's all right dear," James said in a soothing voice. "I asked him and Remus to only put up one in the Parlour."

"Thank Merlin," Lily replied, feeling contented at her husband's for once reasonable action. "Shall we go then?"

James nodded and reached for her hand. "Let's go together. I hope the fireplace at the founders' quarters will be large enough," he said, pulling his wife into a soft kiss.

"No," Lily replied, once he released her. "Let me go ahead. I don't want anything to happen to us or have anyone see us if one or both of us end up in a wrong fireplace."

Stepping into the fireplace, she shouted, "Founders' quarters, Hogwarts."

HP

Lily and James greeted the founders in their painting, which was similar to the one at their home, before they began to explore the rooms.

"What you need to know about our rooms here," Godric spoke up, smirking, "is that you'll be able to freely speak with Hogwarts here in the Parlour and that here around the corner is our spy room, from which you can oversee and overhear the headmaster's office."

"Much more important than these frivolities, however, is Helga's and my bathroom," Salazar spoke up, giving his friend a menacing glare. "From there, you can enter my private lab as well as the Chamber of Secrets to meet with Amaterasu."

"I believe that we should head to Salazar's lab first," Lily spoke up, in spite of knowing that James could not wait to explore the spy room. "Curing Remus must be our first priority for the time being."

"All right," James grudgingly agreed and obediently followed his wife into a very modern looking bathroom.

"This doesn't seem one thousand years old," he spoke up. "Are you sure that no one is actually living here?"

"The house-elves have renovated the place for you to use it," Salazar spoke up from a smaller photo frame behind them. "You'll find my lab right behind the door on the left side."

Only now, Lily was able to recognise the faint line of a door, and a handle appeared in front of her eyes. "Thank you, Salazar," she replied, gratefully, as she curiously entered the lab, only to let out a huge gasp.

"This is enormous," she breathed. When the lab at the manor had been impressive, this one was absolutely gorgeous.

The room held a large oak table with four work stations, four sinks on one wall, shelves with empty phials and dozens of cauldrons in different sizes on the opposite wall and huge shelves with ingredients and potions on the farther part of the room. The further she walked into the room, the cooler the air became.

 _'The refreshment charm that Salazar was speaking about,'_ she realised, as she swiftly approached the shelf looking for sheep fern and moon berry leaves. To her enormous relief, she spotted both quickly, as the hundreds of ingredients were sorted in alphabet order.

"Both ingredients are here," she blurted out, happily, before she proceeded to take a sufficient amount of both with her. As comfortable as the lab seemed to be, she would feel better brewing at what had become her home during the last six weeks.

"James, I'm finished here. We can go home," she called out to her husband, only now realising that he had not even followed her into the lab. _'Maybe he followed but left right away,'_ she corrected herself and returned to the bathroom to profusely thank her ancestor.

"You're welcome," Salazar replied and urged her, "Please go and visit Amaterasu."

"Salazar," Lily said, sighing. "Today is Christmas Eve, and I'd like to finish the potion to give it to our werewolf friend for Christmas. Would it be all right if I visited Amaterasu tomorrow?"

Salazar agreed, and Lily left the room to quickly return home and begin brewing.

 _'Where in the world has James gone?'_ she wondered in annoyance, once she stepped into the Parlour only to realise that her husband was not in sight. _'Probably exploring the spy room,'_ she thought in exasperation. _'I told him that I'm in a hurry, because I want to finish the potion today.'_ "Please tell James that I've returned home," she instructed the founders in their painting, before she stepped into the fireplace and was gone with a whoosh.

HP

In a cupboard under the stairs at Lily's sister's residence, a small boy was sitting on a tiny mattress, eagerly listening to the sounds coming from outside the cupboard, where the Dursleys were preparing their house for Christmas.

' _Who's Father Christmas?_ ' he wondered, having heard his aunt tell his cousin something about presents that Father Christmas was going to bring for good boys, but not for freaks. He already knew from the experience of the last six weeks that he was meant by freak and that he would probably be spending Christmas in his cupboard like every other day.

HP

Tom was nothing more than a spirit, a weak spirit to be truthful, as he had been an unintended seventh Horcrux. _'At least I have magic,'_ he thought in annoyance, as he could feel the hunger, which the seventeen-month-old child experienced at the hands of his most unpleasant muggle relatives. _'Unfortunately, Potter is too strong for me to take over. Even as a baby, he's too strong, while I'm too weakened to do anything to improve my situation,'_ he mused.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and your expectations for this story. Any opinions or ideas are very welcome. I'm sorry that this chapter is not very eventful. Nevertheless, it was needed. Knowing that everyone is worried for little Harry at the Dursleys', in the next chapter, Sirius will go and visit him. Several readers enquired about Alice and Frank - we shall see. Do you mind spending some time with Lily and her extended family in this time, or would you prefer to proceed to Harry's Hogwarts time faster?_


	7. The Wolvescure

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

When Lily joined her friends in the Parlour, which the enlarged family had made their most frequently used room due to the magical presence of their great grandparents, she let out a relieved sigh upon seeing that James was back from Hogwarts.

"The potion is ready," she said, contentedly, handing Remus a small goblet, in which a light brown potion was steaming. "Please take it, before it cools down," she instructed him, smiling happily.

Remus stared at the light brown phial with a combination of hope and excitement. "Is that really a cure for lycanthropy?" he asked, incredulously.

"Of course it is," Salazar barked from the painting. "Did you believe that I made my heir brew a potion, let alone on Christmas Eve, if it wasn't the real thing?"

"Oh no, Professor, I'm sorry," Remus quickly apologized and without further ado gulped down the potion.

Lily observed her friend in concern; however, the werewolf's expression remained unchanged, as he was seemingly stunned to suddenly be given a cure for his furry problem.

"I hope Lily's concoction wasn't too disgusting, Mooney," Sirius blurted out, grinning at his fellow Marauder, who was staring into space, seeming absentminded.

"Ah Padfoot, frankly speaking, I didn't even notice the taste," Remus replied, sighing. "I was much too distracted by the implications of the effect. I still really can't believe that I could ever be cured from lycanthropy, but even if I don't want to get my hopes up…" He slowly trailed off and excused himself for a while.

"Thanks, Lily, for having me and especially for trying to cure me. Please give me some time," he muttered, as he left the Parlour to retreat to the room, which James had shown him earlier explaining that it was his room for whenever he wished to visit them at Slytherin Manor.

 _'I just hope it'll work,_ ' Lily thought, forcing herself to not voice the idea, as she knew how Salazar would most likely react if she doubted the potion, which she had brewed under his supervision, let alone the recipe that he had invented himself a millennium ago.

"James," she addressed her husband, who had proceeded to play with Susan and Harry, "where in the world were you? I thought I told you that I wished to return home quickly."

"Ahh, sorry Lils," James replied, apologetically, carefully tickling the children, who were struggling against him, chuckling and squealing in pleasure. "I went to explore the spy chamber. It's absolutely amazing. You can just watch everything that occurs in the headmaster's office."

Amelia rolled her eyes, knowing how upset Lily had been, when she returned alone. "Did you hear or see anything of interest?" she enquired, looking at James in apparent expectation.

James shook his head. "Oh well, I witnessed a conversation between Dumbledore and his phoenix familiar. Unfortunately, I couldn't understand what Fawkes was trilling, however, he seemed to be pretty upset about something concerning Copy Harry."

"Dumbledore really deserves that his familiar is upset," Lily said, sighing. "By the way," she added, recalling something, which had crossed her mind earlier, "I'd like to do something about the copy of Harry. I'm not sure what I could do though."

"Are you sure that he's still there?" Amelia enquired, giving her a questioning look.

"I think we'd have heard something if he wasn't," Lily replied, pensively.

"My other self in the portrait in the headmaster's office would have alerted me if something happened to the boy," Godric reassured her, grinning. "He's of course able to understand Fawkes' babbling, considering that he was my familiar, when I was still alive, and that I'm a phoenix Animagus."

"I wished I could bring Copy Harry here to spend Christmas with us, but it would cause trouble if Petunia missed him," Lily continued, letting out a deep sigh. I just can't help feeling desperate at the idea of my baby having to spend Christmas with Pet and her horrible husband, even if he's only a copy of Harry."

"You wouldn't be able to bring him here anyway," James spoke up in a firm voice. "Remember that he has Voldemort's Horcrux in his head, and we don't want the bastard to know that we're still alive in spite of the fact that he killed us on Halloween."

"Oh, that's true," Lily said, nodding her head in acknowledgement.

"Which means that he mustn't see either of you," Sirius spoke up. "I could go and bring him some presents though."

"That would be wonderful," Lily said, gratefully. "We must make sure to charm everything invisible for muggles though. I'd trust my sister to throw everything possibly magical into the rubbish bin."

During the following hour, the four adults busied themselves making a small set of Christmas presents for the little boy who was living in the cupboard under the stairs of the Dursley residence.

Lily looked at the stuffed, black dog in Sirius' hand in annoyance. _'Oh well, he could surely use a cuddly toy,'_ she then made up her mind and pointed her wand at the toy, muttering an incantation.

"What was that?" Sirius growled, glaring at her.

Lily chuckled. "That was a charm that makes the dog tell him that I love him in my voice, whenever he pushes the dog's belly," she explained, causing the two Marauders to have her add similar charms for James and Sirius as well. In the end, the adults liked the toy so much that they decided to make the same for their real Harry.

"Maybe we could make a cat like Lily's Animagus form for Susan," Amelia said, when the second dog was finished, and the four adults immediately busied themselves creating a stuffed marmalade cat, which was equipped with similar charms.

HP

All of a sudden, Spirit popped up in front of Lily. "Mistress Lily, you have a letter from Gringotts," she announced, handing over a larger envelope.

"I was wondering how you were managing your mail," Remus blurted out, causing Lily to smile, as she absentmindedly opened her letter.

"It would be too dangerous to have owls come here, so we made them come to a spot in the post office, which automatically notifies the house-elves, when a letter arrives," Lily explained, patiently, before her expression changed to extreme anger.

"I can tell you why Fawkes was upset with Dumbledore," she growled. "He went to Gringotts, tried to make himself Harry's guardian, which did not work of course, because Sirius was mentioned in my will as his godfather. Apparently, Buckbean did not tell him that though. Then Dumbledore sealed our vaults including our will and set up a monthly withdrawal from Harry's trust vault to my sister, the Weasleys, for whatever reason, and to himself. Buckbean is asking us if we wanted to do something about it."

"Of course," James blurted out, sounding very much upset.

"Maybe not," Amelia cautioned. "If you weren't alive, who would receive this information?"

Lily and James exchanged a pensive look.

"Harry," Lily finally replied.

"Exactly, and since we can't have owls from Gringotts showing up at the Dursleys, Dumbledore surely did something to intercept owls for Harry and divert them to himself," Amelia continued. "I don't know if you'll be able to break that charm."

Lily nodded in understanding. "I'll try," she promised in determination. "If we rejected the withdrawals now, he'd become suspicious in any case. Perhaps we should let everything run its course and then cancel these bank transfers and recall all the money right before Harry is going to attend Hogwarts, so that the meddling old coot will believe that Harry did it by himself."

"That's better," Sirius concurred, nodding his head in thought.

"Let's head to Gringotts right after Christmas and speak with Buckbean," James said in a soothing voice, making Lily wonder how his anger had deflated so quickly.

 _'Oh well, it doesn't really matter,'_ she then thought. _'We manipulated everything, so that we could be here for Harry, and that's the only important thing. Let them have some money, which will all be taken back in nine years' time.'_

"Why the Weasleys though?" she wondered aloud.

Everyone remained pensive for a moment, before James suddenly let out a groan. "Didn't the Weasleys have a baby girl a few months ago? Don't tell me Dumbledore wants to set up a betrothal contract between Harry and her."

"Well, let him try," Amelia replied, calmly. "He can even file it; however, it won't be valid, because he's not Harry's guardian. He won't know that it doesn't work though, and therefore will allow the Weasleys their monthly stipend."

"I really like Arthur Weasley, but I can't stand his wife," James growled. "I'm sure this was her and Dumbledore's plan."

"Well, it won't affect Harry, so let them play their games and be in for a shock in a few years' time," Lily said, grinning in anticipation.

HP

A couple of days later, another letter from Gringotts showed that their assumptions had been correct and Albus Dumbledore had filed a betrothal contract between Harry and one Ginevra Molly Weasley signed by Molly Weasley. However, Buckbean assured them that the contract was not valid, as Dumbledore was not entitled to act as Harry's guardian. He also hinted to the fact that Harry's name was not Harry James Potter anymore, but Harry Salazar Potter-Slytherin-Gryffindor.

Shortly after Halloween, Lily had copied her and James' birth certificates and charmed hers to Elisabeth Helga Slytherin, born on May 25, 1962, and James' to Sebastian Godric Gryffindor, born on December 3, 1960. Copying their wedding certification, she had changed the copy to display the marriage of Elisabeth Slytherin-Gryffindor and Sebastian Slytherin-Gryffindor. Finally, she had copied Harry's birth certificate and changed the parents of the copy to their new names and Harry's name to Harry Potter-Slytherin-Gryffindor. To make everything complete, she had charmed Harry's entry in the book of all magical children in Dumbledore's office to display just 'Harry Potter' instead of his real name.

HP

In the very early hours of Christmas morning, when everyone else retired to bed, Sirius made his way to Little Whinging to pay the copy of his godson a short visit.

He found the seventeen-month-old sleeping on a small cot in the cupboard under the stairs. He even had to crouch down to fit into the place. Knowing from experience that it was not easy to wake up his godson, he crawled over to the baby mattress and gently shook Harry's shoulder.

After a few minutes, Harry's mind slowly turned to consciousness and, in the light of Sirius wand, seemed to recognise him.

"Paf," he whispered in clear excitement.

"Sorry Pup, I can't take you with me, but I've got a few Christmas presents for you to open, when you wake up in the morning," he whispered back.

"Fanku," Harry replied, smiling, although Sirius had the impression as if his smile did not reach his eyes. Suddenly, a strange smell alerted him to the fact that the child's nappy needed a change.

"Come on, Pup, let's get you changed, won't we," he muttered, gently prying Harry's clothes off, only to let out a small gasp upon seeing the rash on the baby's bottom. "Do they not regularly change your nappy?" he asked the child, only receiving a shrug in return.

' _Not with me,_ ' Sirius thought, feeling extremely angry at Petunia and her husband. After casting a series of cleaning and healing spells at the child, he conjured a nappy, which he charmed to not only be soft on the baby's skin but also self-cleaning and muggle repelling. Petunia would not even think about taking it off. By the time he was finished dressing the child, the boy was already fast asleep with a small smile playing on his lips. "Take care Pup," he whispered. "I'll come again some time."

 _'I can't believe that they make him sleep in the cupboard under the stairs,'_ he mused in anger, when he returned to Slytherin Manor and quietly retired to his room. _'I better not tell Lily and James, because Lily would go and kill Petunia for sure, especially when she hears about the rash on his bum_ ,' he decided.

HP

From that point onwards, Sirius saw to it that he visited the small boy at Privet Drive once a month. "Even if he's only a copy, I want to keep him as happy as possible," he explained to Lily and James, who were completely unaware of her sister's and brother-in-law's treatment of the little boy.

HP

Christmas was an enjoyable affair. When Lily, James and Harry arrived in the dining room for breakfast, Remus was already waiting for them.

"Lily," he spoke up, tears welling in his eyes. "I know that I still have to wait for the full moon and also shut myself away for the night, but from my condition, I already know that the cure worked. Thank you so very much for curing me."

"You're very welcome," Lily replied, gently pulling the now sobbing Marauder into a light hug.

"Uncy Mooey sad?" Harry enquired, eyeing his uncle with wide eyes.

"No Harry, Uncle Mooney is not sad. He's crying because your mummy made him all better and he's very happy," James explained, as he gently lifted Harry into his seat.

Susan and Harry received many presents and were over the moon with joy, especially with their stuffed animals.

"Perhaps we should make another one for Neville," Lily suggested, and the three Marauders set to make a lion for her godson.

HP

On time for Christmas dinner, Augusta and Neville joined the enlarged family.

Lily noticed quickly that something seemed to be wrong. "Augusta, did something happen?" she asked, carefully.

The older witch shook her head. "No," she said, sighing, "not really. It's just that Neville and I visited Frank and Alice this afternoon."

"Oh," Lily replied in understanding, before a sudden idea crossed her mind, and she turned to Salazar and told him what had happened to Neville's parents. "Do you perhaps have a remedy for that?" she asked, hopefully.

Salazar shook his head. "Since there was no such thing as the Cruciatus curse in my time, I don't have a cure for this," he replied, pensively.

"Sal, are you sure that it's a potion they need?" Helga suddenly spoke up. "Maybe a healing spell would work." Turning to Lily, she added, "Please give us some time to discuss the matter and do some research."

"Thanks," Lily replied, smiling, before she promised Augusta, "If there's anything that can be done, be assured that we'll do it."

"That's all I can ask for," the old witch replied, gratefully.

HP

During the week after Christmas, the full moon came and went by without having Remus transform, and the Marauders and Lily were ecstatic. "I'm sorry, Remus, but for the time being, I must ask you to keep quiet about the matter," Lily informed her friend. "Please give me some time to make a name for myself with one or perhaps even a couple of apothecaries, and then, I'll offer the wolvescure. At that time, you could approach a healer and ask for a confirmation that you're not suffering from lycanthropy anymore."

"Of course, until such a time, I'm going to keep quiet about the matter," Remus assured her. "I'm already completely happy about being cured. Everything else can wait."

HP

A few days later, Lily asked James to make two simple golden rings for her, and her husband happily complied, grateful for Nicholas' invaluable assistance. Looking at the rings in contentment, Lily charmed them to completely change their appearance. Whenever she was wearing her ring, which was invisible to everyone but James and her, she was spotting short, black hair and light blue eyes. James' ring had a similar effect. His hair was light brown, long and wavy, and his eyes were a darker shade of blue.

"James could almost go as Sirius' twin. No one will be able to recognise you," Amelia said, looking at her best friends in clear amazement.

"Lily, I don't know if I've already told you that, but you're absolutely brilliant," James told his wife before pulling her into a loving kiss.

"That means we can go to Diagon Alley together," Sirius cheered, causing Lily to cast him a menacing glare.

"I didn't spend the time to make these just so you could have fun and play around," she said in a firm voice. "The first thing that I'm going to do is to visit some apothecaries to see if they were interested to work together with me."

"Have you thought of a cover story? Won't they want to see your curriculum vitae?" Amelia enquired, giving her best friend a sharp look.

"I don't think they're going to ask a lot of questions if I offer them a cure for lycanthropy," Lily said, lightly. "If they want to know where I graduated, I can still mention Hogwarts. In fact, I've charmed the book of magical children to add my new name to the date of my fake birth. The only problem is that I still haven't taken my mastery in Potions yet, but Salazar is already training me, so that I should be able to take it in a year or maybe a year and a half, considering that I can't brew anything dangerous while being pregnant."

HP

It took Lily several weeks of studying for her Potions Mastery under Salazar's tutelage and discussing the matter with Amelia, Sirius, Remus and Augusta, before Lily finally felt confident enough to make a visit to the first apothecary. Instead of the largest apothecary in Diagon Alley, where the students usually bought their potions ingredients, she decided on the Dripping Cauldron, a smaller apothecary in a side street to Diagon Alley, which was more specialised in its supply of ingredients and concoctions.

Wearing the charmed ring on her left hand, she hesitantly entered the Dripping Cauldron, only to realise in shock that a man completely clothed in black was just occupying the owner's attention. Worst of it, however, was not the fact that Lily recognised the man as her former classmate Severus Snape, but that he was in fact discussing his next potions delivery with Mr. Thorwarth, the owner of the Dripping Cauldron.

 _'Oh no, I just hope I won't say anything stupid and he won't recognise me,_ ' Lily thought, as she approached the two wizards and greeted them.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and your expectations for this story. Any opinions or ideas are very welcome._


	8. Disaster at the Dursleys

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

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 _ **A.N. It is because of this chapter that I chose rating T for this story. There will be violence and character deaths towards the end of this chapter.**_

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Severus Snape quirked an eyebrow in silent question.

"Ah Severus, don't you recognise me?" Lily asked, carefully avoiding to make eye contact with her former friend. "I'm Elisabeth Slytherin. I was two years behind you at Hogwarts."

"Slytherin?" Severus sneered in clear disbelief. "Believe me I'd remember if there had been someone with such a name."

"Well, frankly speaking, I went under a false identity at Hogwarts, knowing the implications of that name," she lied, matter-of-factly, only to add, "I was in Ravenclaw, which is why you probably don't remember me."

"Possible," Severus agreed, still seeming unconvinced though.

"I came here to offer my services as a Potions Mistress," Lily now turned to Mr. Thorwarth. "I'm a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin and as such I'm in the possession of his potions recipes."

"Are you a Potions Mistress?" the wizard in front of her enquired, while Severus merely raised an eyebrow, silently following their conversation.

"Not yet," Lily admitted. "I'm going to take my Potions Mastery in a couple of months though. Afterwards, I can offer you concoctions such as a cure for lycanthropy."

"There's no such thing…" Thorwath replied, when Severus interrupted him.

"Salazar Slytherin was the greatest Potions Master of all times," he said, seemingly pensive. "Maybe he had a potion for lycanthropy."

"He never published his recipes," Lily added, smiling.

"If everything that you said is true, it'll be an honour to work with you, Ms. Slytherin," Thorwarth said in obvious determination. "Please come back for an exclusive contract right after taking your mastery exam and brew a batch of the cure for me as soon as possible."

"An exclusive contract?" Lily enquired, feeling uncertain about the exact implications.

"Means that you won't sell potions to other apothecaries," Severus informed her, smirking.

"Oh all right, I agree," Lily promised Mr. Thorwarth and left the Dripping Cauldron, feeling jubilant.

Only when she returned to Diagon Alley did she notice that Severus Snape had followed her.

"Ms. Slytherin," he addressed her in a soft voice, "would you mind having a cup of tea together for a small conversation between a soon-to-be Potions Mistress and a Potions Master?"

"Why not?" Lily replied, smiling, while her thoughts went haywire. _'Did he recognise me?'_ she wondered, horrified, only to calm herself with the thought, _'Oh well, in the worst case, I can always obliviate him. Thank Merlin I'm a Charms Mistress.'_

Severus led her back to the Leaky Cauldron, where they chose a relatively quiet table in a corner.

"You somehow feel familiar, but I can't place it," he finally said. "Anyway, I'd like to work together with you if you'll let me. Ever after finishing my mastery, I've been selling potions to the Dripping Cauldron; however, from the beginning of this year, I don't have much time anymore, as I'm working as the Potions Master and Head of Slytherin at Hogwarts. I've only been able to come to Diagon Alley today, because it's the summer holidays."

"Oh, wow," Lily replied in feigned amazement. "You must be extremely good if Dumbledore hired you to teach at Hogwarts." ' _Of course. It's Severus_ ,' she thought to herself, as she remembered brewing together with her former best friend. ' _He's always been absolutely brilliant at Potions_.'

Severus let out a deep sigh. "Oh well, I'm a good enough Potions Master, although I really don't like teaching children. I owe Dumbledore though, so I couldn't refuse the position."

"Oh no, I'm sorry," Lily replied, uncertain how to properly respond, while her thoughts went haywire. _'He was a Death Eater, so maybe Dumbledore saved him from Azkaban or whatever,_ ' she thought, trying to keep her face void of emotions.

"I'm not exactly fond of Dumbledore," she could not prevent herself from stating. "He's a meddling old coot."

"That he is," Severus agreed, smirking. "Nevertheless, I must work for him."

Lily shortly pondered if she should ask about some details, however, quickly dismissed the thought and pointedly looked at her watch. "I'm sorry, but I need to return home. My husband will be wondering what's taking me so long. Shall I contact you after passing the mastery exam?"

"That would be great," Severus confirmed. "I'm glad that I met you today."

"Dito," Lily replied, smiling. She slowly headed to the fireplace, determined to let him floo away first if he followed her, however, to her relief, Severus strode back into the alley, and she quickly stepped into the fireplace heading home to Slytherin Manor.

HP

"You had tea with that slimy git?" James asked, a wrinkle of anger building on his forehead.

"Keep your friends close but your enemies closer," Lily replied, smirking. "It was more inconspicuous to just speak with him for a few minutes than to refuse. He was suspicious of me in the first place, since he didn't remember me, while I knew exactly who he was."

"All right," James conceded.

"James," Lily said in a soft voice. "You don't have any reason to be jealous, you know. I'm your wife, and I'm not going to betray you in any way. He's a colleague though, another Potions Master, and he's been teaching at Hogwarts from January onwards."

James nodded in understanding. "Poor Harry if Snape manages to keep the post over the next decade," he added, grinning.

Rolling her eyes, Lily suggested, "Let's go to Gringotts and speak with Buckbean about what Dumbledore is doing to our vaults."

"Yes, we really should do that," James agreed. "If even Snape didn't recognise you, we should be safe travelling to Diagon Alley even together."

"Of course we are," Lily commented, grinning.

HP

Together, they headed to the bank, glad that Remus was watching the three children like he always did, when they were studying, working or otherwise occupied.

 _'If he can announce that he isn't a werewolf anymore, we won't be able to rely on him to watch the kids anymore, as he's probably going to find a proper job for himself,'_ Lily thought, when she trailed into Gringotts behind her husband.

"We'd like to speak with Buckbean please," she told the teller. "Sebastian and Elisabeth Slytherin."

A few minutes later, Buckbean arrived giving them a questioning look.

"Good morning Buckbean, may your gold always flow and your enemies cower in front of you," Lily greeted the goblin, making her Slytherin ring visible to the account manager, who nodded in understanding.

"Well said, Lady Slytherin, may your enemies always fear you," he replied and led Lily and James into his office.

"A very good masquerade," he commended them. "If not for the ring, I'd never have guessed."

"Thank you, Buckbean," James replied, smiling, as he proudly added, "My wife is simply amazing."

Buckbean nodded at him in clear amusement. "It seems so," he agreed, before coming to business.

"Lord and Lady Slytherin-Gryffindor, I suggest that we completely freeze the Potter vaults until Harry turns eleven. Since you have access to the Slytherin and Gryffindor vaults, you won't need anything out of the Potter vaults anyway. If anyone, in other words Dumbledore, complains, I can tell them that the Potters requested it as a security measure if anyone tried to take advantage of Harry being a baby and unable to monitor his own vaults. That way, the money, which has already been taken out, will be withdrawn back, and no one will be able to make any further debits."

"Yes please," Lily and James agreed, simultaneously. "Thank you, Buckbean," Lily added, letting out a sigh of relief.

HP

The following weeks passed uneventfully with Lily studying for her Potions Mastery, James taking his mastery in Alchemy, and Remus and occasionally Augusta watching Susan, Harry and Neville. Every Sunday night, Sirius went to visit Copy Harry. Unbeknownst to Lily and James, whom he kept in the dark about the abuse that Copy Harry was suffering with his relatives, he always took a self-refilling basket of food with him, which was spelled to last a week and charmed invisible to the muggles.

HP

On Harry's second birthday, Lily suddenly felt the contractions begin, realising that the baby was going to be born very soon.

"Lily, do you want me to take you to St. Mungo's?" James enquired in apparent excitement, causing his wife to shake her head.

"No James, please call Perenelle. She has overseen more than enough births to help me through this," Lily replied, calmly.

Shortly after midnight, on the first of August, David Sirius Slytherin was born. He had Lily's red hair in combination with James' brown eyes.

"Oh, he's such a handsome little cutie," Amelia, the new-born godmother, said in clear amazement, as she carefully took the baby into her arms.

"I can't believe I'm a godfather to such a cute little boy," Remus blurted out, tears welling in his eyes.

"Oh well, I hope for the two of you that you'll only have to watch one godson," Sirius spoke up, smirking.

"Thanks for looking after both Harrys," James said, before he proceeded to fawn over his new-born.

"Sirius, thanks for doing this, but it won't be long anymore," Lily replied, before she closed her eyes and drifted into a much-needed sleep, knowing that her children were cared for by their father and a bunch of eager godparents.

HP

Copy Harry learnt that he was now two years old and needed to earn his keep. He did not understand what that meant, however, he realised that Aunt Petunia wanted him to clean the kitchen with the broom that he received for his birthday.

Unfortunately, after being stuck in his cupboard for nine months without being given the opportunity to walk, he did not remember how he had been walking and running around before that fateful Halloween. Trying to hold on to the broom, he was not able to keep himself upright and sank to the floor, helplessly.

"You're two years old, so you'll be well able to stand and walk," Petunia said, coldly. "Even Dudley can walk already. Just practise and then clean the floor."

Unsure as to what to do, Harry did the first thing that came to his mind and climbed the broom, not realising that flying the broom through the kitchen did not really help cleaning the floor.

Before he knew what happened, Uncle Vernon tore him from his broom with his fat fingers and violently shook him, shouting something about not doing freaky things in his house.

HP

Tom was observing the abuse with growing hatred for the muggles who were supposed to properly raise their magical nephew.

On this day, after the boy had taken a beating by his uncle for performing magic in a situation of dire need, Tom felt that little Harry's body became extremely weak. ' _How strange,'_ he mused, wondering if he might be able to take over his body. However, before he could decide when the best time to try such a thing might be, to his utter horror, the child completely vanished into thin air. The only remaining thing in the small cupboard under the stairs was him, his spirit, in the form of a dark cloud.

 _'How could that happen?'_ Tom wondered. _'What happened to Harry? Where is he? Oh well, considering that I was thrown out of his body, he must be dead. But still, there should be a body.'_

 _'What now?'_ Tom asked himself, quickly dismissing the question as to what had happened to the child as unimportant. He ventured out of the cupboard and, without much thinking, entered the first human body that he encountered. He almost gagged upon realising that it was the form of Petunia Dursley, a woman – and a muggle at that.

 _'Oh Merlin, this is disgusting,'_ he realised upon taking a glimpse at the interior of her mind. He quickly overcame the woman's spirit that was not even able to properly oppose him.

He headed into the kitchen, wondering how women were even able to walk in such strange shoes like the ones that he was unwillingly wearing, and sank into the empty seat at the table.

Without listening to the one-sided conversation between the fat muggle and two-year-old Dudley, who was not even able to properly articulate himself like a magical child of the age of two could, he merely stared at the breakfast table, trying to make a plan. However, his musings were rudely interrupted.

"Petunia, what do you think about going to Majorca for a week or two?" Vernon suddenly suggested. "That way, we won't have to see the freak's stupid face for a while."

"Yeah, go!" Dudley screamed.

Glaring at the fat muggle and his disgusting son, Tom merely shrugged. "Whatever," he replied, shortly, unaware of the confused look that he received from the large man.

Deeply regretting that he did not have a wand, he armed himself with the kitchen knife that was lying next to his plate.

"Enough talking, Dursley, you stupid muggle," he hissed, before he leaned over the table pushing the knife into the muggle's chest.

Before he could enjoy, however, how the muggle did his last breath, Vernon Dursley reached for the cricket racket next to his seat and slumped the racket into Petunia's head, before he succumbed to his injuries.

"Nooo," Tom in the form of Petunia screamed, knowing that his spirit was too weak to leave the muggle's body and flee, let alone possess anyone else.

HP

When Albus Dumbledore entered the muggles' residence, after the alarms in his office had alerted him to the complete failure of the blood wards, he found two-year-old Dudley hoarsely screaming for his breakfast, while his parents had obviously murdered each other.

Not noticing the woman's red eyes, he wondered what might have happened for the Dursleys to kill each other. He lifted the boy out of his children's seat and sat him right onto the table, where the little pig began to devour everything that was in his reach.

"What happened?" he asked Dudley, who merely shrugged and busied himself stuffing his face.

"Where's Harry?" he enquired in a strict voice that made the child grudgingly interrupt his breakfast to shortly reply, "Caba."

However, little Harry was nowhere to be found, and after an hour of searching with and without magical means, Albus returned to Hogwarts in deep concern.

HP

Calling his most trusted colleagues into his office, Albus informed them that little Harry had vanished from the Dursleys without as much as a trace, noticing in surprise that the Sorting Hat all of a sudden disappeared from his shelf.

"Fawkes," he interrupted himself, "do you know what happened to the Sorting Hat?"

#That's for me to know and for you to never find out,# Fawkes trilled in clear amusement.

"Fawkes doesn't know where the Sorting Hat went either," he absentmindedly translated for his colleagues.

"What does that have to do with Harry?" Minerva enquired, giving him a glare of incredulity.

"Probably nothing," Albus replied, pensively. "He already vanished a few times some weeks or months ago, which is strange, because it never happened before."

"Anyway, back to Harry," Minerva continued, glaring at him. "Perhaps the Dursleys already managed to kill him."

"No Minerva," Albus replied in a firm voice, pointing to one of his glassy devices on the shelf, next to where the Sorting Hat usually sat. "The device over there would have informed me when his life was in peril."

He gave Minerva and Severus a sharp look. "Minerva and Severus, I need you to search for Harry. He could be anywhere, but it's important that we find him as soon as possible."

"Well, considering that he's only two, he can't have gotten far now, can he?" Minerva replied, rolling her eyes at him.

"If he went away by his own free will, then that's true," Albus voiced, sighing. "I'm going to contact Arabella Figg and ask if she knows something."

"Wait. What?" his deputy protested, her voice laced with anger. "His own free will? Are you implying that Death Eaters could have taken him? You said he was safe at the horrible muggles' house."

"Minerva, I don't know what happened," Albus tried to soothe her, knowing from his weekly fights with her how over-protective she was of the small boy. "Death Eaters wouldn't have been able to approach him due to the blood wards in any case."

He observed in concern how his long-time friend left his office, giving him a menacing glare, which he clearly did not deserve, as he had always had the boy's best interest at mind.

"Well, please let me know if there's news," Severus stated, before he, too, left his office, his face emotionless as usual.

"It's not my fault, right, Fawkes?" he tried to find consolation with his familiar, however, the phoenix chose to merely glare at him.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and your expectations for this story. Any opinions or ideas are very welcome._


	9. Fight at St Mungo's

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

The enlarged family at Slytherin Manor was gathered in the Parlour fawning over Baby David, when all of a sudden, Sopho appeared out of thin air.

"The copy has vanished, and the old, grumpy one is just discussing it with his colleagues. Just so you know in case you'd like to follow the conversation from the spy chamber," the Hat informed them.

"That we'll do," James was the first to respond. "Lily?" He enquired, giving his wife a questioning look.

"Sorry James, please give me some more time," Lily refused, not feeling well enough to step into a fireplace after just having given birth to a baby boy fifteen hours ago. "Please show us the memory later on."

Profusely thanking Sopho for the information, James and Sirius headed to the founders' quarters at Hogwarts and entered the spy chamber, where they witnessed what Dumbledore told Minerva and Severus about how the Dursleys apparently killed each other and little Harry vanished without trail.

"I wonder what happened," Lily spoke up in confusion upon watching the memory. "Why in the world did Petunia and her husband kill each other, at the same time as Copy Harry vanished at that?" A sudden thought crossed her mind, and she let out a deep gasp. "Oh Merlin, everything is my fault," she breathed, tears welling in her eyes.

"What is your fault?" James enquired with apparent bewilderment.

"That Petunia's dead. It would have never happened if real Harry would have been there with Voldemort's piece in his head, because he wouldn't have vanished," Lily explained. "I suppose that Copy Harry vanished setting the piece of Voldemort free, which then killed my sister and her horrible husband."

"Lily," Amelia spoke up in a soft voice, gently taking her friend's hands into her own soft hands. "This is not your fault. You couldn't know what was going to happen. At that time, you didn't even know about the part of Voldemort. So nothing here is your fault. You've always done what was right. Do you understand me?"

"Yes," Lily replied in a small voice, feeling very much consoled by her friend's kind words. "Did Dumbledore say what happened to their son?" she suddenly remembered to enquire.

James shook his head. "No, only that he left him on the table, where he ate three people's breakfast just by himself."

"I mean, he's my nephew," Lily said, sighing. "I don't know how fast people will get to know that the Dursleys are dead. Someone must look after Dudley."

"Because they looked so well after Harry?" Sirius growled and, realising that Lily and James stared at him in surprise, explained how the muggles had neglected if not outright abused Copy Harry.

"Why did you never tell us?" Lily asked, getting upset again.

"Why would I've told you making you worry about him?" Sirius returned the question. "I properly took care of him. There wasn't anything else you could have done anyway."

"You did everything possible, and for that, I'm very grateful," Lily replied, giving her son's godfather a small smile.

"Dumbledore alerted Mrs. Figg to the situation," Godric spoke up from the painting. "She's living nearby in order to keep an eye on Harry. Let her handle the matter with Harry's cousin. He has another aunt, the sister of his father. Since he's a muggle, it's better if she takes care of him in any case."

"All right, thank you, Godric," Lily replied, gratefully, still trying to fully comprehend what Sirius had told her about the Dursleys' treatment of Copy Harry.

HP

During the following weeks, the Marauders frequently visited the spy chamber at Hogwarts witnessing many conversations between the headmaster and his colleagues, who spent the remaining weeks of the holidays searching for little Harry.

"I wished we could tell Minerva the truth," Lily groaned one day after viewing James' memory. "She's really worried about Harry."

"I know," James replied in a soothing voice. "We can't do that though, as she's too close to Dumbledore, and he's a master Legilimens."

HP

One day, James and Sirius witnessed a conversation between Dumbledore and Molly Weasley.

"Albus," Molly greeted the old wizard, as she stepped out of the fireplace and immediately refused the lemon drop, which the headmaster offered. "Today, I received an owl from Gringotts informing me that the money they had already transferred to us has been withdrawn and there will be no more payments from Harry's account to ours," she blurted out. "What does this mean? You promised it would be a monthly stipend for us for Ron befriending Harry once they get to go to Hogwarts."

Albus let out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry, Molly," he finally replied. "I received the same message, and the goblins told me that the Potters had taken precautions in case anyone but a member of their own family accessed their accounts. Their accounts seem to have been frozen, so that I won't be able to make any withdrawals."

Molly's face sunk in apparent disappointment. "Oh, that's disappointing," she uttered out, seemingly angered. "In this case, would you be willing to do something else for us?" she enquired.

"Of course, Molly. What can I do for you?" Albus readily conceded, looking at his friend over his half-moon spectacles.

"I didn't hear anything about the betrothal contract between Harry and my Ginny? Did you file it already?" Molly asked, causing Dumbledore to nod, seemingly deep in thought.

"Yes, I did that right after we set it up," he confirmed, smiling at the eager redhead.

"Thank you, Albus," Molly breathed in apparent relief, returning the smile. "Please let me know when you have any news about little Harry. You know that I'd love to take him in."

"That I will do," the headmaster reassured the woman, who then quickly took her leave and stepped into the fireplace.

HP

"Well, they won't have much success," James said in clear amusement, when the enlarged family discussed the matter upon viewing the scene together in the Pensieve.

"Of course not," Amelia agreed, grinning. "Considering that he isn't even Harry's guardian, he can sign as many contracts for him as he wishes, and they won't ever get valid."

 _'Dumbledore is really getting ridiculous,'_ Lily thought, shaking her head in disbelief at the headmaster's obvious stupidity.

HP

Harry and Susan felt very big, as they observed Lily care for Baby David, their little brother. They even tried to help with the baby, whenever Lily allowed them to hold him or watch him for a few minutes. Sometimes, they entertained the baby with funny stories of Padfoot, the large, black dog. But to their chagrin, David remained asleep most of the time.

"Be patient," Lily told them ever so often. "If he's getting older, he'll be awake much more, and he's going to be happy to have such big siblings who're willing to entertain him."

At the same time, Remus began to teach them letters and numbers, knowing from Rowena's warnings about Harry's future role in the magical world that they were going to need much time for real training, as soon as they were able to cast controlled magical spells.

"Voldemort is not gone yet, and the prophecy still applies to Harry," Rowena informed the adults, her voice laced with concern. "I've seen many visions of fights."

"Well, we can always try to change Harry's future from what you saw, can't we?" Amelia suggested, causing Lily to cast her a grateful nod.

"We're going to properly train him and his sister," James decided.

"Don't forget Neville," Remus added. "He's extremely close to Harry as well. He and Susan will join Harry in whatever he's going to face in the future."

"That reminds me of something," Helga spoke up from the painting. "I believe that you will be able to cure his parents."

"What?" Lily gasped, looking at her many times great grandmother, open mouthed.

"It's a combination of a spell and a potion," Helga continued. "As we're obviously not able to try it out, we can't promise that it's going to work though. Nevertheless, I believe that it's worth an attempt."

HP

Ten minutes later, Lily was standing in Salazar's potions lab at Hogwarts, a hurriedly scribbled recipe on a small parchment laid out on the work table in front of her. _'I can't believe that we'll be able to cure Alice,'_ she thought, feeling absolutely ecstatic.

"Slowly Lils," James warned her, as she returned to the manor in excitement. "We still can't be certain that it's going to work. "We'll try it out of course, but don't get your hopes up yet and don't tell Augusta or Neville about it."

Letting out a deep sigh, Lily nodded. "I know, but I still hope that it's going to work." _'I look forward to watching from the spy room how Alice tells Dumbledore off for placing Harry with Petunia and then losing him,'_ she thought, unable to hide a broad grin from James, who observed her in amusement.

"What's so funny?" he enquired, causing Lily to let him in on her expectation of her best friend's future conversation with one stubborn headmaster.

"The funny thing is," Amelia spoke up, who had just entered the Parlour, "that Dumbledore never alerted anyone in the Auror department about Harry vanishing. I'd suppose the Aurors could be an efficient force in the search of missing persons; however, he's just keeping the information at Hogwarts, making Minerva and Severus search by themselves."

"Well, it's Dumbledore," James growled. "He, as the leader of the light, told everyone off who wanted to take Harry in…"

"Thank Merlin," Lily interrupted, pointing out just how devastated any family would be if their foster son suddenly vanished into thin air.

"Yes, that's true," James conceded, "but still, he didn't allow anyone to take Harry in and placed the so-called saviour of the magical world with muggles. That's bad enough, but having to tell them that the child left for good and he can't find him would be devastating for him as the leader of the light."

"The Daily Prophet would have a field day with that," Amelia concurred, chuckling.

"Meli, I got the potion," Lily informed her friend, showing her two small phials. "The question is how to administer it and at the same time cast a spell at Alice and Frank."

Amelia remained pensive for a moment. "You can't just walk into St. Mungo's and tell them that you want to cure the Longbottoms. They'd just put you into the long-time mental ward. I have an idea though."

She interrupted herself, when David, who had been peacefully sleeping in his crib, suddenly began to whimper. He quietened down immediately, however, when Lily began to feed him.

"Do you perhaps know Unspeakable Raros?" Amelia enquired, giving Lily and James a sharp look.

"No," her friends replied, simultaneously. "Should we know him?" James queried, quirking an eyebrow.

Amelia chuckled. "Oh well, he's a good friend of mine, and I seem to be the only one knowing his real identity. He's another victim of Voldemort. Anyway, I could ask him for help."

"How can he be a victim of Voldemort if he's still alive?" James asked in apparent suspicion.

"Just like you, he's hiding under a different name, in his case under his Unspeakable name," Amelia explained, patiently. "He'd be willing to help even if we don't tell him about your real identity though. Afterwards, you can always think about letting him in."

"I think we should try to heal them on our own first," James decided. "We can go in our disguise and just tell them that we want to visit the Longbottoms. It shouldn't be too difficult."

"I'm not sure," Lily said, sighing. "Having an Unspeakable help us might be safer for everyone."

"No," James contradicted. "He won't accept that we just want to try out a spell and a potion, which is not known in our time. He won't believe us if we tell him that we have portraits of Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin and they told us how to cure them."

"That might be," Salazar spoke up from the painting. "Especially if he wants to see the recipe and it contains ingredients, which you don't have in this time. You can't tell anyone about our rooms at Hogwarts."

Lily let out a deep sigh. "All right then, James, let's go there on our own then."

"I could take Sirius," James offered. "We could…"

"No." Amelia cut him off. "Don't even think about it. If you get caught, things will be ugly, which doesn't matter so much with you, as you don't have an identity to keep. However, if Sirius gets caught meddling with patients at St. Mungo's, he'll at least lose his position as an Auror."

"Meli," Lily spoke up in determination. "Will you watch David for an hour?"

"Of course," Amelia replied, gently. "Where are the others?"

"Remus took them out flying," Lily replied, smiling.

"Okay, are you really ready though? Don't go in a rush. Have you practised the spells?" Amelia enquired, eyeing them in apparent concern.

Lily and James nodded, reassuringly.

"I will simply spell the potion into their systems, and then James hast to cast the spell, which Helga taught him," Lily explained. "It's not difficult."

"Good luck then, come back safely, and I'll take care of the little cutie," Amelia replied, gently taking Baby David from Lily.

"Hey little one," she cooed. "You won't have a boring life. Your family is always up to no good."

"You're the right to talk," Godric spoke up, smirking. "Your fiancé is always the first to get into trouble."

 _'That's true, but not this time,'_ Lily thought, as she followed James into the fireplace with a feeling of foreboding.

HP

Taking their rings off the thin, golden necklaces, which they usually wore around their necks, Lily and James put their rings onto their fingers, changing their appearance to the ones of Elisabeth and Sebastian Slytherin.

"Are you ready?" James asked, before he pulled his wife into a passionate kiss.

"Now I am," Lily replied, grinning, as he finally released her. "Let's go."

She followed her husband into the fireplace, and a moment later, they stepped out into the entrance hall of the magical hospital.

"We wish to visit Alice and Frank Longbottom," she told a mediwitch.

"Long-time spell ward or something like that," James added.

They were told where the ward was and that they should address the mediwitch or mediwizard on the fourth floor.

"We don't allow guests into our long-time ward, except for immediate family," a mediwizard on the fourth floor informed them. He was about ten years older than Lily and James, and Lily found that she immediately disliked him.

"Alice is my best friend and my son's godmother, while I'm her son's godmother," Lily informed the man, who stared at them in apparent disdain.

"All right then, but this is an exception, and you'll have ten minutes," the mediwizard replied and, seemingly grudgingly, led them into a hospital room equipped with two beds.

Standing in front of Alice's bed, Lily took in her best friend's unfocused expression. ' _Just wait, Alice, we're going to cure you of this,'_ she thought, as she impatiently waited until the mediwizard had closed the door behind himself. Only when they were alone, she quickly spelled the content of one of the small phials right into her best friend's stomach, before she motioned James to go ahead with his spell.

James pulled his wand, however, before he could cast a spell, the door was flung open, and the mediwizard burst into the room, casting a stunning spell at him. Fortunately, James was able to dodge the spell and retaliated with a stunning spell at the mediwizard, who fell to the floor, unmoving.

"Our system has registered that a spell was cast here in this room, which was not a healing spell," another mediwizard said, as he dashed into the room.

Before Lily knew what happened, her husband was engaged in a fight with three hospital employees and was already carrying what seemed to be a broken nose. She hurriedly pulled her wand to assist, quickly stunning two people and casting a tickling charm at a third.

Unfortunately, more people came to their colleagues' rescue, and they quickly resorted to more dangerous spells, which Lily and James had to protect themselves from by casting shielding charms or dodging. When someone managed to cut through her shield and cast a cutting spell at her, while at the same time James had many large boils appear on his face, Lily finally realised that there was no way they could heal Alice or Frank and had to make a new attempt at a different time. The thought _'It's almost as if we were fighting Death Eaters'_ crossed her mind.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and your expectations for this story. Any opinions or ideas are very welcome._


	10. The Unspeakable

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

Quickly casting a Silencing spell around James and herself, Lily uttered the activation password for the Portkeys their rings were equipped with. "Home to the manor."

An instant later, the Portkeys activated, and they found themselves on their way back from St. Mungo's to Slytherin Manor.

"Thanks, Lily, for saving us," James uttered, before he succumbed to his injuries and slipped into unconsciousness.

"Spirit," Lily called the head house-elf, who swiftly began to take matters into her own hands.

A short while later, she and her husband found themselves back in the master suite, and Perenelle Flamel was bustling around them.

"You were lucky," she informed them in a no-nonsense voice. "That could have been much worse."

"Why would the healers attack us though?" James blurted out. "It's not as if we had cast any dark spells or such."

"They couldn't know that you're a former Auror," Lily spoke up, sighing. "They probably thought we were Death Eaters who wanted to finish Alice and Frank off for good."

"Exactly," Perenelle said, grimly. "Now see to it that you get some sleep."

"Wait," Lily uttered, already feeling exhausted enough to sleep, "where's David?"

"He's in his crib," Perenelle informed her, pushing the baby's crib nearer to her bedside.

"Thanks," Lily replied, noticing from the baby's even breathing that he was fast asleep, before she relaxed and swiftly drifted off to sleep.

HP

"I hope I don't have to tell you how stupid that was," Amelia scolded the Potters, when they were gathered around the breakfast table eight hours later. "You should have taken my advice of talking to Unspeakable Raros before doing such a stunt."

"Sorry Meli," Lily replied, letting out a long sigh. "You're right as usual. Will you please speak with Unspeakable Raros about the matter?"

"Yes," Amelia said, grimly. "Is it all right if I let him in on your secret?"

"Only if he swears a wizard's oath to you to keep our secret," James said in a stern voice, making Amelia nod in agreement.

"Don't tell him anything just now," James then decided, changing his mind. "Invite him here sometime, so that we can speak with him. Then we can still decide if we trust him enough."

"Who exactly is this Unspeakable Raros?" Sirius enquired. "Are we supposed to know him?"

Amelia smirked. "You all know him," she admitted, as she accepted a small parchment with the manor's address from Lily. "I can't tell you his secret without his consent though."

HP

Albus Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk looking over his half moon spectacles at his most trusted colleagues.

Pointing to the front page of the Daily Prophet, which showed a photo of a man and a woman fighting healers and mediwizards at St. Mungo's, he said, "The Death Eaters are still not gone. Last night, two of them tried to attack the Longbottoms at St. Mungo's. Therefore, it's imperative that we find little Harry, before classes commence again next week."

Severus stared at the photo in apparent disbelief. "Albus," he spoke up, seemingly pensive. "I don't believe that those are Death Eaters. I know the woman. She's Elizabeth Slytherin, and she's a Potions Mistress. Maybe they went to the hospital to heal the Longbottoms."

Minerva let out a snort. "Don't you think that if there was a way to heal them, they'd already be cured?" she scoffed, glaring at her younger colleague."

"Maybe not," Godric spoke up from his portrait. "I know Elizabeth and Sebastian Slytherin. They've access to Salazar's potions recipes and Helga Hufflepuff's healing spells. They might well be able to cure the Longbottoms."

"But if that's so, why didn't they just tell the healers?" Minerva enquired, giving the founder of her house an incredulous look.

"Because no one would have believed them," Albus informed her, letting out a deep sigh. "Is that so, Godric?" he enquired.

"I believe so," the ancient wizard conformed.

 _'I wonder who they are,'_ Albus thought with a combination of pure curiosity and concern. _'In my whole life, I've never come about anyone with the Slytherin name. I thought that Tom was his last living relative.'_

HP

A few days later, on Saturday afternoon, Unspeakable Raros visited the Slytherins at Slytherin Manor.

Amelia went to greet the man in the entrance hall and led him to the Parlour, where, as usual, the extended family was spending their weekend.

"This is Unspeakable Raros," she introduced him, smiling.

"I'm Elizabeth Slytherin, and this is my husband Sebastian," Lily said, gently taking the offered hand in greeting.

"This is Sirius, my fiancé," Amelia continued.

Spirit brought refreshments, and everyone took their seats around the table in front of the large painting of the four ancient wizards.

"Are these the founders of Hogwarts?" Raros enquired after thoroughly inspecting the painting.

"Yes," Lily confirmed, smiling.

"Elizabeth is a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin and Sebastian of Godric Gryffindor," Sirius explained, cheerily.

"And you're a dog," James added, rolling his eyes at his friend in apparent exasperation.

"Snuffles," Raros mumbled, chuckling in apparent amusement.

"Well, we're really lucky to have Rowena, Helga, Salazar and Godric here in their painting," Lily quickly turned the topic back to the founders of Hogwarts. "They really help us a lot."

"It was with Helga's and Salazar's assistance that they were able to brew a potion to cure the Longbottoms," Amelia explained to Raros, who nodded in apparent understanding.

However, before the Unspeakable was able to voice a reply, Sirius blurted out, "What did you just say?"

Everyone stared at the impulsive Marauder, questioningly, just when Harry and Susan dashed into the room, closely followed by Remus.

"Is Debi wake?" Susan enquired, cheerily, getting onto her toes to look into the crib.

"No, he's asleep," Lily replied, smiling at the eager children.

"Oh," Harry said in clear disappointment. "Debi's bewy lazy."

"He's still a baby, and babies need a lot of sleep," Lily replied, pulling both children into her arms.

"Who's that?" Susan enquired, looking at the Unspeakable.

"This is Unspeakable Raros," Amelia introduced the wizard in the Unspeakable robes.

"Why is he weawing a costume?" Harry wanted to know, causing everyone to stare at Raros in clear amusement.

"You can as well take your hood off," Sirius spoke up in a stern voice, which was extremely unusual for the funny Marauder. Only his fellow Aurors had ever heard him use such a voice. "You have much to explain."

"Sirius, what's wrong?" James enquired, while the children made themselves comfortable on Amelia's lap, as Lily was just taking David out of his crib to feed the baby, who had woken up by the commotion.

"Only one person in the whole world has ever called me Snuffles," Sirius continued in the same, strict Auror voice. "And he's supposed to be dead."

"Sirius," Amelia spoke up in a soft voice, however, to no avail.

"If you are who I believe you to be, you better reveal yourself now," he all but growled at the Unspeakable.

Nodding in understanding, Raros pulled his hood off, causing Lily and James to gasp.

"I thought you were a Death Eater. I thought you were dead," Sirius addressed his younger brother, his voice laced with accusation.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," Regulus replied, sighing. "Yes, I was a Death Eater, before I found out who the Dark Lord really was and what he was doing. After finding out, I began to work against him, but it wasn't easy, especially since he found out about me as well. So I feigned my own death and became an Unspeakable. In fact, Meli helped me a lot."

"Why did you never tell me?" Sirius asked, turning to his fiancée in apparent anger.

"Because it wasn't my secret to share," Amelia replied, matter-of-factly.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," Regulus added, giving his older brother a faint smile.

A moment later, the two young wizards were standing close together, pulling each other into a fierce embrace.

"Auntie," Harry spoke up in the high, childish voice of a two-year-old, "who's dat wif Uncy Padfoot?"

"That my dear, is your Uncle Regulus, Sirius' brother," Amelia replied, gently brushing an errant strand of hair from Susan's cheek.

"Uncy Weguwus," Susan repeated, questioningly.

"Yes, I'm your Uncle Regulus," the Unspeakable confirmed, stepping over to where Amelia was sitting with the children. "And you are?"

"I'm Susan, an dis is my bwoda Hawwy," Susan replied, smiling, before she turned to Lily and David and added, "and our baby Debid."

"James," Lily spoke up, smiling at her children's antiques, don't you think we should…"

"Yes," James spoke up, before his wife even had to voice her suggestion.

"Regulus," he addressed his best mate's brother, "this really must be kept secret, too, but we're Lily and James Potter."

"What?" Regulus blurted out in apparent disbelief. "But I thought you were dead."

"Didn't we all?" Lily replied, chuckling.

"Oh well, that's that, but still," Regulus replied, grinning, as Lily and James took their rings off, revealing their real selves. "So Harry is really Harry Potter," he added, "and Susan?"

"Susan is my niece," Amelia informed him. "She and Harry grow up like twins though with Lily and James as their parents and Sirius, Remus and myself as aunts and uncles."

"Auntie, Uncy Wegu also our uncy," Harry insisted, giving Amelia a look of protest.

"Yes, that's right," Regulus agreed, smiling.

"Now, shall we go flying for a while?" Remus suggested, and Susan and Harry cheerfully followed him out of the room in clear anticipation.

"Very well then, back to the task ahead," Regulus said, giving Lily a questioning look. "Amelia said something about starting a fight at St. Mungo's to cure the Longbottoms?"

Lily let out a deep sigh, before she revealed the whole story to the Unspeakable, trusting him to have their best interests in mind.

"Very well," Regulus said, after remaining pensive for a moment. "I suggest the following." Everyone was hanging on his lips, as he offered his plan. "It would be easier if I could take them straight to one of the bedrooms by Portkey, however, since the manor is under the Fidelius and they won't be able to comprehend the address in their current state, we'll just have to work around that. Please show me a spot just outside the wards, to where I can take the Longbottoms by Portkey. Maybe you could place two chairs outside, so that they can sit down, while you cure them."

"How are you going to get into their room though?" Sirius enquired. "It surely will be heavily warded by now."

Regulus smirked. "As an Unspeakable, I'm able to pop myself anywhere, provided that it's not under the Fidelius charm. It's no problem for me to pop right into their room and pop them back here together with me. A Portkey would be less strenuous, but I'm sure they've seen to it that outgoing Portkeys won't work from that room after the show you pulled off earlier this week."

Everyone accompanied the Unspeakable right outside the wards, where James conjured two comfortable looking chairs for their expected guests, before Regulus pulled up his hood and simply popped away.

 _'I just hope everything will go well,'_ Lily thought. Knowing that it would not take the Unspeakable long to fetch Alice and Frank, she hurriedly called Lissy and instructed her to fetch two phials of a certain concoction from the potions storage room.

By the time the elf held out the phials to her, Amelia and Sirius were already helping Alice and Frank into the chairs.

"James, are you ready? Alice first," Lily spoke up and swiftly spelled the potion into her friend's system. "All right," she informed her husband, observing in excitement how he waved his wand to cast a much-needed healing spell.

While Alice's mind was slowly returning to awareness, Lily and James quickly healed Frank as well.

HP

Alice's mind slowly turned to consciousness, and she frantically looked around, immediately noticing that Frank, her best friend and some other people, who were definitely not Death Eaters, were surrounding her in what seemed to be a plain field.

"What happened, and where's Neville?" she blurted out.

"Shh, everything is all right, Neville is with Augusta," Lily said in a soothing voice and held out a small parchment to her, urging her to read.

 _'Slytherin Manor?'_ Alice thought, incredulously, as she read the address, already realising that a huge castle like building appeared behind her right out of nothing.

"Let's get you inside," a woman, whom she recognised as Amelia Bones, spoke up and ushered the whole group into the manor.

"What happened, and where's Neville?" Alice repeated her earlier question, worried for her baby.

"It's a long story, but Neville is safe with Augusta at Longbottom Manor," Lily patiently explained in a soft voice.

"I'll call them here now," James promised and headed to the fireplace, while Lily led the small group into what she called the Parlour.

To Alice's surprise, two of her former classmates, Sirius and Remus, were playing with Harry and a girl of about the same age as Harry and Neville, while a baby was sleeping in a crib. However, Harry seemed much bigger that she remembered him, and she was certain that she had only seen him on the day before yesterday.

Motioning her to take a seat next to her on the sofa, Lily enquired, "Alice and Frank, what's the last thing that you remember?"

"Being attacked by Death Eaters," Frank was the first to reply.

"I don't know how we got out of that," Alice added, pensively.

"Yes, and I'm surprised that we're still alive," Frank continued.

Lily quickly informed them what happened during that fateful night almost ten months ago and that they had spent those months at St. Mungo's, before Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin had managed to invent a cure. She also told them about her failed attempt of curing them at the hospital and that Unspeakable Raros had finally got them out of St. Mungo's, so that they could be healed earlier.

 _'This sounds so unbelievable,'_ Alice thought, however, knew that everything her friends told her had to be true, and seeing her big godson, who was not a baby anymore but just amazingly playing with his new sister, just confirmed everything.

Therefore, she was not surprised, when her mother-in-law entered the room with her still supposed to be baby, who was equally grown up as Harry.

Neville shouted "Hawwy! Susan!" Running over to Harry and the girl, he hugged both of them placing sloppy kisses onto their cheeks.

Only when Alice began to chuckle in amazement at her suddenly big son, Neville looked over at her.

"Mummy?" he asked, tentatively, before he ran towards her and jumped onto her lap upon seeing her nod and smile, pulling her into a toddler's bear hug.

At the same time, her mother-in-law looked at the occupants of the sofa in apparent shock and crumbled to the floor, unconscious.

"It's probably a heart attack. You must take her to St. Mungo's immediately," Helga Hufflepuff spoke up from the painting, and before Alice could even register what was happening, the Unspeakable, who had been with them ever since Alice regained consciousness, already popped away with Augusta in tow.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and your expectations for this story. Any opinions or ideas are very welcome._


	11. Slytherin Sweepers

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

To everyone's relief, Augusta did not have a heart attack, but merely fainted from the shock of seeing her son and daughter-in-law completely healed at the Slytherins' home. She returned to Longbottom Manor the same evening and together with Neville helped his parents to get back on track.

While Frank took back his former position as an Auror, Alice remained with Neville. However, in contrary to before they were attacked, she accompanied Neville to Slytherin Manor every morning, where she took turns with Remus Lupin teaching the three toddlers this and that.

Naturally, the Daily Prophet had a field day with their sudden reappearance in the magical world.

 _'Days after Death Eater attack at St. Mungo's the Longbottoms miraculously cured'_ the red headline shouted two days after Raros had abducted Alice and Frank from the hospital.

HP

"Something is very wrong here," Albus said to his most trusted colleagues, when the four heads of the houses assembled in his office for their last staff meeting before the beginning of the new school year. "It doesn't even say who cured them, and the other day, Severus told us that it was someone with the surname Slytherin who attacked them at St. Mungo's."

Severus smirked. "Oh well, I already told you last week that they probably weren't attacking the Longbottoms but trying to heal them," he replied, making sure to sound bored, while his mind screamed, _'Who in the world is Elisabeth Slytherin?'_

"Severus," the headmaster continued, "you said that you knew Mrs. Slytherin." Seeing the Potions Master nod, he continued, "Why is it that you know her? I'm certain that she did not attend Hogwarts."

Severus shook his head. "She told me that she attended Hogwarts under a fictive name, as she didn't want to attract attention because of her surname. Apparently, she was a Ravenclaw just a few years below me," he recalled what the young woman had told him, when he had met her in London at the beginning of the holidays.

"Who might she be?" Albus wondered aloud.

"I don't know," Severus admitted. "She somehow felt familiar, but I don't know what name she went under."

 _'Frankly speaking, I don't even care,'_ he thought. _'She's a Potions mistress, or will be soon according to what she said, and she has access to Salazar Slytherin's potions recipes. Moreover, she promised to work together with me.'_ Somehow, he felt ecstatic at the idea.

"Well," Filius suddenly interrupted his musings. "I believe that the most interesting part here is the fact that the Longbottoms are cured. In fact, Alice Longbottom has been my best student apart from Lily Evans, and I wonder if she'd be willing to take over my position as Charms professor."

Albus leaned forward in his seat, giving the half-goblin a piercing look. "Filius, are you sure that you wish to retire?" he asked in a grave voice.

"If there's a promising successor then, yes," Filius informed the headmaster.

"I shall contact Mrs. Longbottom and ask if she'll be willing to teach at Hogwarts," the old wizard promised, letting out a long sigh.

HP

However, Dumbledore did not even have to contact Alice Longbottom, as it took the young witch exactly two days to show up at the headmaster's office.

"Ah, Mrs. Longbottom, how kind of you to pay an old wizard a visit," the headmaster greeted her, offering her a lemon drop.

"This is not a social visit, Headmaster," Alice all but growled, refusing the sweet with a quick gesture. "I came by to enquire about my godson. Sirius Black told me that you placed him with his magic hating relatives, who at one stage killed each other. How dare you put my godson in an abusive family let alone in so much danger?" She was all but shouting by now, causing the headmaster to let out a deep sigh.

"Even if I wasn't available due to unforeseen circumstances, Sirius was there to take our godson in, but you simply ignored the Potters' will?" she roared. "How dare you?"

"Mrs. Longbottom," Dumbledore replied, apparently trying to remain calm in spite of her shouting at him. "You must understand that there were blood wards around the Dursleys' residence…"

"Blood wards," Alice scoffed. "As if they'd done little Harry any good."

"They kept him safe from Death Eaters," the headmaster tried to explain, causing Alice to let out a snort.

"But not from his so-called family," she growled. "I heard that he was abused and neglected by his aunt and uncle."

"Who said that?" Dumbledore demanded, anger written on his face.

"Someone who cared enough to check on the child ever so often," Alice replied, her eyes blazing with fury. "And before you ask, no, he did not take him with him against better knowledge, just because you said to leave him in that hellhole."

"Sirius?" Dumbledore enquired, seeming disappointed.

"That's for me to know and for you to never find out," Alice snarled.

"Headmaster, the young lady is absolutely correct," Godric spoke up from his portrait. "I have nothing to add, and while you might have acted in what you believed was for the Greater Good, you categorically wronged young Harry."

"Let me tell you something," Alice said, icily. "I'm going to ask the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to hand my godson over to me, provided that he can be found. At least the Aurors will be more capable to look for him than a Potions Master, who spent all his life detesting the child's father and godfather. We'll still consider if we trust you enough to have our godson attend Hogwarts at all."

"But he must attend Hogwarts. It's imperative," Dumbledore replied in apparent panic. "Maybe you should consider coming to Hogwarts together with him," he then offered, explaining that Professor Flitwick had already suggested her to become his successor.

"I can't decide that now," Alice replied, not wanting to make any plans for the time being. "At least not before Neville and Harry will be of age to enter Hogwarts or any other magical school."

"Very well," Dumbledore nodded in agreement. "I just wish you to remember that Harry must attend Hogwarts."

 _'Well, we'll see who's going to win in a possible trial,'_ Alice thought, as she took her leave, glaring at the old wizard.

HP

Lily was outright happy. Her baby was developing normally, her best friend was back in their lives, and Harry and Susan were delighted to have Neville come over on a daily basis. Moreover, they liked Remus and Alice well, and with the two of them minding the four children on a full-time basis, she and James were able to concentrate on their studies.

While James was still working together with Nicholas Flamel developing a new broom, Lily concentrated on finishing her potions mastery.

 _'It shouldn't take me so long,_ ' she thought, _'considering that James was able to take his mastery in Alchemy months ago.'_

 _'Alchemy is a rare subject, and the conditions for the mastery are much lower than in potions,_ ' a small voice spoke up from the back of her mind. _'Plus James had Nicholas Flamel studying with him, and he didn't have to mind the children every now and then.'_

 _'Well, I have Salazar helping me,_ ' Lily thought, feeling very much reassured by the portrait's presence in the potions lab. _'It's just a pity that he isn't alive, although it's amazing how real he and also the other three founders seem in their portraits.'_

Shortly before Christmas, Lily successfully took the potions mastery exam, and the extended family held a huge party to celebrate the matter.

 _'I wonder if I should contact Severus like I promised him,'_ she thought, when she was lying in bed after a fulfilled day. _'Maybe it's too dangerous to even be in contact with him, considering how close he is to Dumbledore.'_

"On the other hand, we don't owe Dumbledore anything," James spoke up, when she voiced her concern to him. "I don't really like you doing anything with Snivellus though."

Rolling her eyes in exasperation, Lily reminded him, "I told you that there's no need for you to be jealous. He's been my friend for many years, but I don't have any romantic feelings for him. I love you, James."

"He might have some for you though," James offered, giving her a pleading look.

"All right then," Lily conceded. "I won't contact him. If I meet him at the apothecary, I'll still speak with him though."

"That's fine," James confirmed, "knowing that he's stuck at Hogwarts most of the time anyway." Seeing her smile, he pulled her into a passionate kiss.

HP

A few days later, a New Year's party took place at Slytherin Manor.

"We put up a huge fight with my mother," Frank informed them, when they arrived at the manor. "She insisted on having her traditional New Year's party at Longbottom Manor and was extremely upset, when we told her that we were going to attend your party."

Lily cast her friends a concerned look. "Are you all right putting up a fight with your mother? We'd have understood if you told us you had to remain there tonight."

"No worries," Frank replied, smiling. "We prefer your company over that of some of my mother's acquaintances. Plus, she insisted to invite all of you as well, and we thought that you wouldn't want to attend a party, where you'd surely be the centre of attention as Mrs. and Mr. Slytherin."

"That's true," Lily breathed. "Thank you so much for saving us from a possible disaster. By the way, would you be willing to swear an oath to keep Unspeakable Raros' identity to yourselves?"

"Of course," Alice and Frank promised and smiled at the Unspeakable, knowing that it was him who had rescued them from St. Mungo's, so that Lily and James could cure them.

"Thank you," Unspeakable Raros spoke up, as he slowly pulled his hood off. "It means much to me to be able to spend the night with family."

"Regulus?" Alice blurted out, seemingly shocked.

"Long time no see," Regulus replied, grinning.

"That explains something," Frank muttered, almost as if to himself.

"That explains what?" Lily enquired, curiously.

"Ahh," Frank said, shaking his head, "it's just that Sirius recently seemed extremely happy. You know he's been my partner for the assignments ever since I came back to the Aurors, and well, he seemed different from how he was just a year ago."

"I think that there's something else that made him happy," Amelia spoke up, having heard Frank's musings. "He told me about your agreement," she added, rolling her eyes in apparent exasperation.

"Agreement?" Lily asked, looking from Amelia to Frank.

"Come with me," Amelia instructed her and pulled Lily with her into the library.

"Sirius and Frank decided that because Baby David would be so lonely if he was a single child in his year, not only but especially at Hogwarts, they'd try to impregnate Alice and me before Halloween. Oh well, let's just say both of them succeeded," Amelia admitted, smirking.

"What?" Lily blurted out in disbelief. "Is that why you suddenly decided to marry back in October? You never told me."

Amelia smiled. "Sorry Lily," she apologized. As we wanted to get married anyway, I didn't really see it as the reason," she explained.

"I'm sure that was Sirius' idea," Lily said in exasperation. "Even if I have to admit that it'll be nice for David to have two best friends like Harry has Susan and Neville."

"Yes, it was good that he was born on the first of August, so we have a whole year to supply the friends," Amelia agreed, chuckling, before she sobered. "Lily," she asked in a firm voice, "will you please be her godmother?"

"Of course," Lily replied, feeling delighted at the idea of having a goddaughter.

HP

A few months later, James finished four brooms, one with specific features for each of the positions. From that time onwards, James, Sirius, Frank and Regulus spent much time trying out the brooms. While James mostly rode the Chaser's broom, Sirius played Beater, Frank Keeper and Regulus Seeker.

After much trying out the new types of brooms, the clear verdict was that the position specific broom was an absolute must for a professional Quidditch player.

"The question is how to proceed advertising them," James said, pensively, when everyone sat together to discuss the brooms. He had already made many adjustments after receiving feedback from the others and deemed the brooms perfect enough to bring them onto the market.

"You could either directly address, for example, the British national team," Amelia suggested, "or you could gift a batch of school brooms to Hogwarts."

"Oh right, that will draw enough attention onto the brooms," Sirius agreed.

"Especially if Madam Hooch likes them," James added, grinning.

"The question is if Hogwarts needs brooms for specific positions," Frank spoke up, "considering that the children mostly bring their own brooms. School brooms are mainly used for Flying classes, where specific positions are irrelevant."

"That's true," James conceded, "but if the brooms are better than those which the children own, they'll surely use the school brooms to excel in their match."

"They will," Sirius agreed and offered, "Should I take one of them to Madam Hooch and ask if she'd like to try it out?"

"Yes please, and maybe take the Seeker's broom," James replied, nodding. "I believe that the Seeker's broom will be most convenient for the referee. Maybe you could also ask her for an advice how to advertise the brooms? If gifting a batch to Hogwarts will do the trick, I'm sure ready to do so."

"I think you should speak with Hooch together," Regulus voiced his opinion. "You don't have to worry about your disguise. It's fool proof."

HP

After long-winded discussions among the enlarged family, James decided to name his brooms "Slytherin Sweepers". Three weeks and two conversations with Madam Hooch later, Sebastian Slytherin donated enough Slytherin Sweepers for each of the positions of two Quidditch teams to Hogwarts.

"Thank you very much," Hooch said, enthusiastically, upon receiving the brooms. "They're really good, and I hope very much that we attract the interest of the professionals during the last matches of the school year. We still have two matches on the next two Saturdays, and usually, this shortly before the end of term, people from the professional teams come to assess if there are any students of interest for them."

"I remember that," James replied, smiling.

"Did you attend Hogwarts?" the witch asked, her voice laced with disbelief.

"Yes, but considering the attention I'd attract with a name like mine, I attended Hogwarts under a fake name," James quickly borrowed his wife's excuse for once. "I played on a Quidditch team from second to seventh year though," he added, grinning.

"Would you perhaps be available to attend the matches?" Hooch enquired. "It might be good if any people interested could speak with you right away."

"That's a good idea, and I'd love to watch the matches anyway," James agreed, happily.

HP

 _'Our newest broomstick – the Slytherin Sweeper,_ ' the Daily Prophet's headline shouted a few days later.

The red headline was followed by a second headline in black letters, _'Hogwarts receives Slytherin Sweepers_ _for two Quidditch teams'_.

"Slytherin Sweepers?" Albus read from over his breakfast, casting his colleagues a questioning look.

"I don't have a clue," Severus commented, and Minerva added, "Never heard of them." Turning to Rolanda, she asked, "Is that the broom you were so excited about the other day?"

"There are four different types of Slytherin Sweepers," Rolanda Hooch spoke up in apparent enthusiasm, "The Seeker Sweeper, the Chaser Sweeper, the Keeper Sweeper and the Beater Sweeper. The owner of Slytherin Sweepers donated enough brooms for us for two Quidditch teams and on top of it promised me a special broom for the referee. He still has to develop the referee broom though."

"When did that happen?" Albus enquired, somehow feeling unnerved that the matter had not been brought to his attention.

"A couple of weeks ago, Sirius Black introduced Sebastian Slytherin to me, the inventor of Slytherin Sweepers," Rolanda explained. "I tried them out, and they're absolutely brilliant, especially as they're really different from each other and specifically built to match the needs of each of the positions."

"How strange," Albus mused aloud. "Every now and then, the name of Elisabeth or Sebastian Slytherin comes up. I wonder who they are and why we never heard of them before."

"Frankly speaking, I don't mind who they are," Minerva spoke up in a firm voice. "They healed Alice and Frank, and for that, I'm extremely grateful. If they now decided to donate brooms to Hogwarts, something that we really needed and that was long overdue, I can't thank them enough. Did you ever look at the rubbish of brooms that we had during the last decade? I'm glad I don't have to watch the first-years trying to ride on them anymore. Every time Rolanda taught them, I feared that they'd harm themselves on those brooms."

"Sure Minerva, sure," Albus replied in a soothing voice. "It's just unsettling hearing about the good deeds of what seem to be brilliant people without knowing who they are."

"Especially since they seem to have attended Hogwarts and thus know who we are," Severus added, smirking.

"Exactly," Albus agreed, before he closed the Daily Prophet and returned to his breakfast in annoyance, when one afterthought popped up in his mind.

"I just hope they don't have anything to do with the fact that we can't find little Harry."

"What?" Minerva asked, incredulously.

"Well, they could have known Lily and James from their time at Hogwarts. They certainly knew Frank and Alice," Albus explained.

"You don't think they're Lily and Potter, Albus, right?" Severus asked, sharply. "They're dead."

Albus cast him a weary look. "Severus, I know that the Potters are dead. I was the one who found their bodies, and I was present at their funeral. There are ways to cheat death, however."

"Albus," Minerva scolded him in a sharp voice. "Don't tell me you wish to go to Godric's Hollow and check the Potters' graves. This whole conversation is getting absolutely ridiculous."

"Is it?" Albus enquired, glaring at his deputy. "Then please give me a reason why Severus and you didn't manage to find little Harry in almost a year."

Severus let out a groan. "Albus, please don't tell me that you want Minerva and me to spend another summer wasting our time Potter hunting."

"I'm afraid that this is exactly what I need you to do," Albus replied in a soft voice, giving his most trusted colleagues a no-nonsense look.

"No, we won't," Minerva spoke up in a firm voice. "Amelia Bones told me a few weeks ago that Harry has been found and is safe with his godmother. She also said that they were going to have a trial against you if you do as much as interfere in any matter concerning the child."

"She what?" Albus roared, making his colleagues jump from her seats with their wands drawn, as parts of the ceiling of the Great Hall collapsed.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and your expectations for this story. Any opinions or ideas are very welcome._


	12. The Lily Potter Foundation

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing._

* * *

One evening, the Sorting Hat once again showed up at Slytherin Manor.

"The headmaster is in the hospital wing with a concussion," he informed the extended family.

"What happened?" Lily enquired, looking at Sopho in surprise.

The Hat moved part of his brim to look as if he was smirking, before he replied, "Hearing from his deputy that Amelia Bones and Alice Longbottom were threating him with a trial if he didn't leave Harry in peace, he had a bout of accidental magic causing parts of the roof of the Great Hall to collapse onto the head table. Fortunately, no one else was injured."

"Thank Merlin," Amelia said, dryly.

"Thanks for the information, Sopho," Lily added in a soft voice.

"He seems to feel very much left out, because everyone seems to know you and your husband, although he doesn't," Sopho added, chuckling, before he excused himself and left.

"Could have fooled me," James mumbled, rolling his eyes in apparent annoyance at the meddling old headmaster.

HP

On July 20, Aidan Longbottom was born, just five days before Niamh Black-Bones. The three oldest children of the enlarged family were thrilled to have two new little siblings to care for.

"We'we almost twee," Harry told the babies.

"We'we big boys aweady," Neville added, happily grinning.

"I'm alweady thwee," Susan informed them, carefully taking little Niamh from her aunt.

"Debi bi," David added in a firm voice.

"Yes, you're also big, just a little big," Susan replied in a soft voice, as she gently made the baby burb over her shoulder.

"Now since the three of you are so big, we thought about teaching you wandless magic," James informed them.

"We aweady know some mashic," Harry informed his father. "Accio bow," he added, summoning a bowl with candies out of the nearby shelf.

To Lily's extreme surprise, the bowl obediently floated towards her son, before it crashed onto the table landing with a loud thud.

"Gwanddad Godwic an Uncle Weguwus taught us," Neville explained, his voice laced with apparent pride.

"We want to leawn much more tough," Susan added. "How can I shange Niamh's nappy wif mashic?"

Lily inwardly sighed. "That, my dear, is a very difficult spell for a three-year-old. Plus, the babies probably prefer having their nappies changed manually, because they like the body contact," she explained, showing the children what she meant.

"But dey have body contact all de time," Harry contradicted, looking at Aidan, who was being cuddled by his godmother.

"Most adults are not able to cast magic without a wand," Remus spoke up. "We only decided to teach you, because you're too young for even a children's wand, and because the three of you are quite powerful. Don't be disappointed when David, Niamh and Aidan won't be able to do what you can do."

"They seem quite powerful as well though," Lily replied, recalling how, a few days ago, David had made a bowl filled with peas smash into the far wall in clear disgust and with full intent.

"It doesn't only have to do with being powerful," Salazar spoke up from the painting. "The fact that these three have been trained wandlessly from the age of two did the trick. The three youngsters will be able to do the same if we teach them accordingly."

"Knowing about the prophecy and Harry's destiny, it's important that we train them as early and as well as possible," Regulus added.

"When they're older, we must teach them to use a wand as well though," Lily said, pensively. "They won't want everyone at Hogwarts to know that they're capable of wandless magic."

"Wait until they're eight, and then take them to the founders' quarters. James will be able to make extremely powerful wands for them with Hogwarts' assistance," Godric advised them, causing the adults to nod their agreement.

"That we'll do," James confirmed, grinning broadly.

"Oh I want a wand," Susan spoke up, giggling.

"Why? Can do mashic wifout wand," Harry replied, shrugging, as he selected a candy from the bowl, which he had summoned earlier.

HP

"Earlier this month, a Niamh Black-Bones was born as well as an Aidan Longbottom," Albus informed his colleagues, looking at the large book of Britain's magical children that was lying open on his desk.

"Oh, I'm so happy for the Longbottoms and for little Neville to have a baby brother," Minerva spoke up, smiling.

Albus cast her a look of disdain, as he skimmed the names in the book back to those of Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter, who were three years old by now. On the way up the page, his eyes fell onto a name, and he let out a gasp of surprise.

"David Slytherin," he read from the entry. "He was born on the first of August last year. Maybe in ten years' time, we'll finally get to know the Slytherins."

Godric let out a snort. "Young headmaster," he advised him, "as I told you before, it won't do you any good to be so obsessed with some people, even if it's for the greater good as you state it."

HP

If Albus Dumbledore was annoyed with the reputation of Elisabeth and Sebastian Slytherin, which was mostly due to the fact that he simply did not know the couple, he became extremely disgusted, when word spread around the magical world that Elisabeth Slytherin was able to cure werewolves.

It was on the first of July, the beginning of the month, in which the extended family's older children were going to turn four, that Lily took ten batches of the wolvescure potion to the Dripping Cauldron. Mr. Thorwarth, the owner of the apothecary, had already promised the phials to St. Mungo's, and the magical hospital had arranged for one hundred werewolves to come to the hospital that evening and receive the cure. Through Mr. Thorwarth, Elisabeth Slytherin received one thousand Galleons per batch, provided that she promised to provide another ten batches every month until the last werewolves would be cured.

Of course, Lily was happy to make such a promise and opened an account at Gringotts under the name of _'The Lily Potter Foundation'_.

"What exactly is the purpose of the foundation?" Rowena enquired, once the extended family sat together for dinner.

Lily smiled. "I think I'd like the foundation to help muggleborn children in need, for example, pay for their Hogwarts fees if the parents can't afford them," she said, pensively. "I'm not sure though. Do you have any better idea?" she enquired, looking from the ancient wizards and witches to her friends.

"I believe that this is a brilliant idea," Amelia spoke up in a soft voice.

"Won't Dumbledore get suspicious about the name?" James enquired.

"Why?" Lily replied, shrugging. "Lily Evans was head girl, when I was a fifth-year at Hogwarts. It's not surprising that I knew her."

"That's true," Alice agreed, smiling. "And Lily Evans was a brilliant witch."

"Exactly," James added, grinning, "the brightest witch of our year in spite of being muggleborn."

Lily could not help blushing and rolled her eyes at her husband. "That's not true," she contradicted. "There were others who were at least as good, and she wasn't muggleborn."

"Still I believe that you should give in to the pleadings of the Daily Prophet and give them an interview," Amelia suggested, sighing, as she eyed the newest letter from the newspaper with disgust.

"That would be better," James agreed. "Avoiding them will just encourage them to write nasty stories and will raise everyone's suspicions."

Letting out a long sigh, Lily agreed to meet with Ms. Skeeter from the Daily Prophet, however, under the condition that James accompanied her.

HP

A few days before the family's older trio's fourth Christmas, Elisabeth and Sebastian Slytherin met with Rita Skeeter at the Leaky Cauldron.

"The magical world is eager to hear about the two of you," Skeeter began her interview. "During the last three years, you've done so much good in our world, while no one has heard your names before. Who are you?"

"We're Elisabeth and Sebastian Slytherin," James replied, coolly.

"You're both said to have attended Hogwarts; however, there hasn't been anyone with your surname for a long time," Skeeter continued. "So under which names did you attend Hogwarts?"

"That's for us to know and for you to hopefully never find out," Lily replied in a soft voice.

Seemingly disappointed, Skeeter enquired, "How come that you're suddenly able to do things, which no one else could do like healing the Longbottoms or curing the werewolves?"

"Only since we reached adulthood, we were given access to our ancestors' home, where we have the opportunity to converse with Salazar Slytherin and his friends. Salazar has developed the wolvescure and taught me to brew it, as soon as I took my Potions Mastery," Lily explained.

"What exactly is your relationship with Salazar Slytherin?" Skeeter asked, seemingly confused.

"He's my many times great grandfather," Lily admitted, knowing that Buckbean had put a block on her lineage, so that no human would be able to trace the Slytherin line down to Lily Evans and her descendants, unless she or her children decided to release it. _'Have fun trying to research it,'_ she thought in amusement at the gleam of excitement in Skeeter's eyes.

"May I enquire about the Lily Potter Foundation?" Skeeter continued, giving Lily a questioning look.

"What would you like to know?" Lily returned the question.

"Why Lily Potter? What was your relationship to her, and what is the purpose of the foundation?" Skeeter wanted to know.

"Lily Potter was head girl, when I was a fifth-year," Lily replied, "and she was a brilliant witch and the best of her year in many subjects in spite of being muggleborn. The Lily Potter Foundation will support muggleborn children and give out scholarships for muggleborns, whose parents can't afford the necessary fees for Hogwarts," Lily explained. "Right now, my priority lies on curing all the remaining werewolves, who want to be cured from lycanthropy. Afterwards, I'll speak with the headmaster of Hogwarts about the details of these scholarships."

"Does Albus Dumbledore know who Elisabeth and Sebastian Slytherin are?" Skeeter queried, looking at the young people in front of her with clear expectation.

"We don't know, and we don't care," James replied frankly.

"We haven't met him after graduating from Hogwarts," Lily added a lie.

Skeeter then proceeded to ask about the Slytherin Sweepers. "I've heard that all the professional Quidditch teams have bought or are still waiting to buy your new brooms," she began, only to ask, "Where and when will I be able to buy such a broom?"

James chuckled. "Right now, I'm really busy producing enough brooms for the professional teams, while at the same time researching improvements and yet new brooms," he explained before voicing his newest idea. "I'm thinking about opening a small shop in either Diagon Alley or at Hogsmeade, but I haven't decided on a location yet, and right now, I'm too busy for such a venture. I'd also need someone to assist with a possible shop, and I don't know whom to ask for such a favour at the moment."

 _'Of course, Remus would be a brilliant partner for that, but we still need him to teach the kids,_ ' Lily thought, inwardly sighing. _'Alice wouldn't be able to teach all six of them at the same time, and I really want to spend some more time on research together with Salazar. There should be other invaluable potions, which are unknown in our time. When the older kids are a bit older, maybe Godric, Rowena and Helga would be able to teach them, while Alice focuses on the younger three,'_ she mused, knowing that the ancient wizards and witches were already teaching the children every now and then. ' _Thank Merlin the children are so respectful towards the portraits,_ ' she thought, trying to imagine her late sister studying with the help of a portrait in vain.

Deep in her own thoughts, she missed the last question that Skeeter asked her husband, however, to her relief, the annoying witch seemed contented for the time being, and they were finally able to return home after two hours of being questioned.

HP

It took about a year, before all werewolves in Great Britain were said to be cured.

"Don't believe that though," Remus warned Lily. "There will surely be some who were hiding the fact that they're a werewolf from the ministry. I can't imagine that, for example, Fenrir Greyback allowed them to cure him."

However, at least for the time being, everything remained quiet, and no werewolves were sighted.

HP

One day, when Sirius was alone with Lily and James, he asked, "Would you be willing to go to the Chamber of Secrets and ask the basilisk for a small phial of basilisk venom?"

"What?" Lily blurted out, staring at Sirius in shock. "I'm sure that Amaterasu would be willing to give us some if we asked her, but what do you need it for?"

"Regulus told me he needs it. He wants to destroy something that belongs to the Dark Lord, and he believes that it would be possible with basilisk venom," Sirius explained, shrugging. "He said he's been trying to destroy it for years now but didn't succeed."

"Does he really believe that Voldemort isn't gone yet?" James enquired, giving his best friend a serious look.

Sirius nodded, grimly.

"When I go to see Amaterasu on Sunday morning as usual, I'll ask her," Lily promised in determination. "James," she then hesitantly turned to her husband, "would you mind me asking Amaterasu for some ingredients to give to Severus for Christmas? I really feel bad, because I promised to contact him and never did."

"Lily," James replied, sighing, "if you can promise me that I don't have a reason to be jealous of him, I don't mind you contacting him. Just see to it that you don't spend too much time with him, unless he swears me a wizard's oath to keep his hands off you."

"Of course," Lily promised, smiling, inwardly rolling her eyes at James' obvious jealousy.

HP

On Halloween, exactly four years after their supposed demise, Salazar addressed a topic, which Lily had been putting on hold for a year.

"Why don't you go and speak with Dumbledore about inventing a scholarship for muggleborn students?" he enquired. "I thought that was the purpose of The Lily Potter Foundation."

"Yes, that's true," Lily admitted, reluctantly. "The problem is that Dumbledore is fairly good at Legilimency, while I'm not really capable of Occlumency, and I'm afraid that he'll be able to find out about us."

"Nonsense," Salazar replied, rolling his eyes at his many times great granddaughter in apparent annoyance. "Are you a witch and a Charms Mistress or what?"

Looking from her husband, who merely shrugged, to the painting, she cast Salazar a questioning look.

"You made these rings and charmed them, didn't you?" Salazar sneered. "Simply charm them to protect the wearer from Legilimency attacks."

"Oh right, that's a brilliant idea," Lily admitted and, after concentrating on her newest research topic for a couple of days, charmed the rings accordingly.

"I still feel uncomfortable at the thought of speaking with Dumbledore," she admitted, when the adults were sitting together late in the evening.

"Do you want me to accompany you?" James offered, gently pulling his wife close.

"That wouldn't change that I want to throttle Dumbledore thinking about what he did to Copy Harry and even tried to do to our son," Lily replied, heatedly. "Just even the thought of that marriage contract with Ginevra Weasley drives me nuts. She was barely even born, and Harry was not even two, when Dumbledore and Molly Weasley tried to set up such a thing. Just imagine what would have happened to Harry if we were really gone."

"Lily," Alice spoke up in a soothing voice, "why don't you go and speak with Minerva about the scholarship matter? As the deputy headmistress, she'll be well able to deal with it."

"I'm afraid that she knows me to well," Lily admitted. "Even if our appearances and even our voices are changed due to the charms on the rings, she might recognise me from my way of speaking or my behaviour."

"Couldn't you place a charm on her that would keep your secret even if Dumbledore tried to cast Legilimency at her?" Sirius suggested, giving Lily a pointed look.

"I can't just put a charm on a professor," Lily replied, feeling slightly upset at the idea of doing such a thing to her favourite teacher.

"Ask her. Tell her the truth," Alice advised her. "If she doesn't agree to keep your secret, you can always obliviate her. But it won't come to that. She'll agree, and you can invite her to come here and visit."

"She'd be a great asset to our family," Amelia agreed, smiling.

"All right, thank you all," Lily replied, hastily wiping a tear of relief from her cheek.

HP

 _'I mustn't call her Minerva. We're supposed to not know each other so well,'_ Lily firmly reminded herself, as she stepped out of the fireplace in her former head of house's office, where James was already greeting the professor.

"Mrs. and Mr. Slytherin," Minerva greeted them in a firm yet friendly voice, before she closed off the fireplace and instructed the portrait on her door to not let anyone in, not even the headmaster.

"Thank you, Professor," Lily said, smiling in relief.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you," Minerva stated. "Everyone, first of all our headmaster, has been very eager to get to know you."

"Have you informed him of our meeting?" James enquired in a sharper voice than he probably intended to use.

Minerva cast him a strange look. "No, I haven't. Although I have to tell you that Professor Dumbledore is absolutely trustworthy," she countered in a strict voice.

"I'm sorry, Professor, but we don't trust him," Lily said, lightly. "After what he did to little Harry Potter…" She slowly trailed off, not wanting to reveal anything at this stage.

"Oh well, that was incredibly stupid of him, and he can be glad that I haven't strangled him for that," Minerva said, and Lily noticed with satisfaction that her voice was laced with clear anger.

"I'm sorry," the professor suddenly changed the topic, "but who are you? You somehow seem familiar, and I've been told that you've attended Hogwarts during the last decade, but I still can't recognise you."

"We would like to tell you the truth," Lily hesitantly began to speak, looking at James.

"We'd need you to swear us a witch's oath to not give our secret away though, and we'd like to cast a charm at you, which would prevent anyone to find out through Legilimency," James continued in a no-nonsense voice.

The teacher let out a long sigh. "I don't mind the witch's oath," she readily agreed, "however, I don't like having cast spells on myself."

"I promise that it's only a charm to prevent Dumbledore or Snape to find out about us," Lily explained in a soft voice, only to add, "and I believe that it's worth it and you won't regret it."

"Very well then," Minerva, albeit seeming hesitant, swore her oath, and Lily cast the charm at her, smiling, when she let her wand sink.

"We're Lily and James Potter," Lily admitted and was just about to take her ring off, when they suddenly found themselves at wand point.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter! Please be so kind and tell me what you would like me to do with Snape. I still wanted him to harass Harry at Hogwarts, but several reviews revealed that you might have other "plans" for him. Thank you in advance._

 _Next chapter will be: Christmas at Slytherin Manor._


	13. Christmas at Slytherin Manor

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

"Lily and James are dead," Minerva hissed in an angry voice. "Whoever you are, don't think you can play with my emotions."

"It's really us. Please let us explain," Lily said, calmly, as she quickly slid her ring off her finger, seeing from the corner of her eyes that James did the same.

"Lily? James?" Minerva asked, incredulously, putting her wand away like in a daze.

"We can explain everything," Lily repeated. "May we take a seat?"

"Of course," Minerva agreed. "Sorry, I was just too stunned. I still can't believe it though."

After hearing a couple of stories about the Gryffindor Quidditch team from a few years ago in combination with some tales about the antics of the Marauders, Minerva seemed to finally believe them – much to Lily's relief.

Apparently assessing that her office was not safe enough, she ushered them into her private quarters, where they took seats on comfortable sofas in front of the fireplace, which the teacher shut off right away.

"Malcolm," Minerva called her personal house-elf and asked for tea and biscuits, which popped up on the table an instant later. "Now please tell me everything from the beginning," she instructed Lily, who gladly complied.

She informed her former mentor about finding out that she was not muggleborn but a descendant of Salazar Slytherin and Helga Hufflepuff. She explained how they had cheated death on Salazar's advice, and how Baby Harry had managed to save both their lives by making a copy of her, when she couldn't. "Amelia Bones helped me with everything," she admitted, smiling.

"So little Harry at the Dursleys was not real?" Minerva asked, incredulously.

"No," Lily admitted, smirking. "Real Harry has been with us the whole time. It was only a copy, and he just vanished into thin air. Later than we expected him to," she added as an afterthought.

"He had a curse scar on his forehead, which according to Unspeakable Raros housed a Horcrux of Voldemort, and Godric confirmed that Dumbledore was aware of the fact and did nothing about it," James spoke up in an upset voice. "When Copy Harry vanished, Voldemort's spirit was set free and possessed Petunia, who ended up killing her husband and vice versa." He shrugged. "At least that's what we believe happened."

"Oh Merlin," Minerva breathed in clear shock. She rose from her chair and stepped around the table to pull Lily into a bear's hug. "Thank Merlin the three of you are safe," she blurted out. "I was devastated upon hearing of your supposed death."

"We're four of us by now, by the way," Lily informed her. "While Harry is five, his younger brother David is three, and the two of them are growing up together with Neville and Aidan Longbottom, Susan Bones and Niamh Black-Bones."

"Professor, will you be able to get away from Hogwarts on Christmas Day?" James enquired. "We'd love to have you back in our family as the kids' grandmother, and we wish to invite you to spend Christmas Day with us."

"I'd love to," Minerva blurted out. "Albus won't be happy, but I don't care. He should be ashamed of himself trying to take Harry's matters into his own hands although he didn't have the right to do so. I'll tell him that I'm going to spend Christmas with family this year."

"I hope Slytherin Manor will become a home for you," Lily said gently, as she handed her old mentor the parchment with the address of the manor. "Feel free to stay until school begins again in the new year."

HP

Lily was so happy to have her old mentor back in her life that she almost forgot to speak with Minerva about the Lily Potter Foundation. Fortunately, James recalled that the topic had originally been the reason for their visit and brought it up.

After a short discussion, Minerva and the Slytherins agreed that Minerva should choose one or, if available, two new muggleborn first-years for the scholarship every year.

"It doesn't only have to be muggleborns," Lily informed the professor. "I suppose that most of the purebloods don't have any financial problems, but if there's anyone who is in an unfortunate situation, we can always speak about the matter."

"Thank you so much," Minerva replied, seemingly grateful. "As you know, I always go and speak with the parents of muggleborn elven-year-olds, and it happens every now and then that they tell me they didn't have the means to send their child to Hogwarts."

By the time Lily and James returned to Slytherin Manor, Lily and Minerva were both outright happy.

"Thank Merlin we told her the truth," Lily blurted out, when she stepped out of the fireplace at the manor. "Thank you so much for accompanying me."

"You're welcome love," James replied, smiling, as he pulled his excited wife into a long kiss.

HP

"When is Granny Mina going to come?" Harry asked for the umpteenth time, making Lily roll her eyes in exasperation.

"Susan, why don't the three of you go out into the greenhouse and pick some nice flowers to put into a small vase for Granny Minerva's room?" Lily suggested, causing the three children to rush out of the room.

"I just love the excitement on Christmas morning," Helga spoke up from the painting, just when the younger trio stormed into the dining room.

"Niamh, David, Aidan, please go and wash your hands," Lily instructed them. "As soon as Granny Minerva arrives, we're going to have breakfast."

"Pwesents?" David enquired, wide-eyed.

"After breakfast, you may open your Christmas presents," Lily replied, wondering where the other adults were.

Just when the children had left, Spirit popped up in front of her. "Mistress Lily, Professor McGonagall has arrived," the elf informed her.

"Thanks Spirit. Your Christmas attire looks very nice by the way," Lily said, smiling upon seeing how the elves had changed their usual one-pieces to Christmas dresses, apparently knowing that she would approve of it.

"Thank you, Mistress Lily," Spirit replied, grinning broadly. "I hope it was all right for all the elves to do that."

"Of course," Lily said, gently, before she strode to the entrance hall to greet Minerva.

Once she showed the older witch to her room on the second floor, she warned her, "The children are extremely excited. While the older ones can't wait to meet you, the younger ones are eager to open presents."

Minerva chuckled. "I can imagine," she said. "Just let me take some Christmas presents out of my bag, and then I'll be ready.

HP

Ten minutes later, everyone was assembled in the dining room for breakfast.

"I suppose that Hogwarts is quieter than this," Augusta Longbottom, whom Neville and Aidan had efficiently persuaded to join them at Slytherin Manor for Christmas, spoke up.

Minerva looked at the six children, who were shouting and laughing instead of eating their breakfast, with amusement.

"The students are more annoying," she replied in a firm voice, "and not as sweet. Harry dear, would you mind passing me the marmalade please?" she turned to the boy.

"Of course, Granny Mina," Harry replied, eagerly handing over the requested item.

"Granny Mina, please try this one as well," Susan spoke up. "It's yummy."

Lily observed in amusement how the older trio began to fuss over their honorary grandmother. _'They're good kids,'_ she assured herself.

"Gwanny Mina," Niamh suddenly spoke up, "how is Ama?"

"Ama?" Minerva repeated, giving the two-year-old a questioning look.

"Amaterasu," David translated, helpfully.

"Who in the world is Amaterasu?" Minerva asked in surprise.

"Amaterasu is the basilisk who lives in the Chamber at Hogwarts," Harry explained. "She's very nice. Mummy visits her every Sunday, and sometimes, we may go with her."

"A basilisk?" Minerva asked in apparent horror, giving Lily a terrified look.

Lily let out a long sigh, before she explained, "Amaterasu is Salazar's familiar. She's a basilisk and lives in Salazar's secret chamber at Hogwarts."

Minerva's eyes widened in shock, and she blurted out, "The monster in the Chamber of Secrets." Seeing the whole extended family stare at her in disbelief, she explained, "Forty years ago, a student died at the hands of a so-called monster that is said to be living in the Chamber of Secrets."

"Amaterasu is not a monster!" Salazar suddenly hissed from the painting. "Her view is deadly, but that's not her fault. Someone must have forced her out of the chamber to kill a student. She'd never willingly endanger anyone."

"She's an absolute cutie," Lily agreed. "Right now, her view isn't even deadly, as we cast a spell over the school grounds to keep everyone safe from her eyes. Salazar taught us the spell, which he always used in his time, and we're renewing it every other year."

"Oh, that's good then," Minerva replied, sounding slightly consoled.

"Can we open pwesents now?" David interrupted the conversation.

"Yeah, pwens," Aidan agreed.

"I want pwens, too," Niamh spoke up. "Susu come wif?"

Deciding that there was no way to make the children eat a proper breakfast before letting them open their presents, everyone headed to the Parlour, where a huge Christmas tree was occupying the centre of the room.

Lily noticed in surprise how Frank unobtrusively pointed his wand at a spot next to the tree, and a castle, which looked like an exact duplicate of Hogwarts, made out of small pieces, which she knew from her own childhood as Lego blocks, appeared next to the tree – much to the children's delight.

 _'Ah, that's why all the adults were gone this morning,'_ she realised. _'They built Lego Hogwarts. It completely slipped my mind that James told me they were going to do that.'_

Before she could warn the children, however, Aidan and Niamh had already managed to make the towers of the castle collapse, and David began to cry in disappointment.

"It's all right, David. We'll just build it again," Neville told him, reassuringly, much to Lily's amusement.

 _'Good luck with that, Nev.,_ ' she thought, assuming that it had to be a lot of work building all the different towers.

"Let's open our presents first," Harry suggested upon viewing a large present with his and Susan's name on it.

Together, the two five-year-olds busied themselves tearing the wrapping off, only to shout in absolute delight, "The Hogwarts Express!"

During the rest of the morning, all other presents remained forgotten, as the six children busied themselves making the people and small animals, which were included in the present, travel from London to Hogsmeade and back.

The adults used their quiet time to exchange their own gifts and speak with Minerva about the happenings of the last four years.

Lily received many books, a large bottle of her favourite perfume as well as a beautiful necklace equipped with a pendant, in which the Slytherin family crest was engraved.

"It's beautiful," she breathed, when James gently placed it around her neck. "Thank you so much."

HP

Several hours later, Spirit popped up in front of Lily carrying an envelope. To her surprise, it was from Severus Snape.

 _'Dear Mrs. Slytherin,  
thank you so very much for your breath-taking gift. It is just incredible. My colleagues, first of all our esteemed headmaster, were extremely jealous upon seeing the ingredients. I take it that you have a basilisk or a similar kind of large snake at hand? Considering that your gift is worth at least one thousand Galleons, there is no way for me to properly return the favour. Please accept this small token, and I hope that we will be able to speak about our work and a possibility of working together in the future. I wish you and your family a very happy Christmas.'_

"Attached is a voucher from the Potions Pottery," Lily explained, smiling.

"Mummy, what is de Poshuns Pottewy?" David enquired, looking up from Hogsmeade station, which he entertained together with Niamh and Neville.

"It's a shop, which is specialised on tools for the brewing of potions, like cauldrons, phials, scales and so on," Lily informed her son, smiling.

Minerva chuckled, when Lily read her letter aloud. "Poor Albus, he will be so miffed – like always when he hears your name," she admitted in apparent amusement.

"Oh well, let's hope he didn't throw a temper tantrum again, because my wife sent his Potions professor a Christmas present and didn't deem him worthy enough of as much as a Christmas card," James spoke up, smirking.

"Poor Albus," Minerva muttered, however, seemed to be highly amused.

HP

During the afternoon, Minerva observed the adults in amazement. She knew each of them quite well, as everyone, except for Amelia and Regulus, had been her wards during their seven years at Hogwarts. Augusta had been one of her classmates. _'They seem extremely happy,'_ she thought, feeling delighted at the invitation to belong to the family as the honorary grandmother. Letting her eyes wander to the children, she could not help smiling at the cuteness. _'I'm so glad that Harry is able to grow up here amongst his loving family, together with five siblings, in contrary to what Albus was to condemn him to,_ ' she thought, before she was brought back to reality, when little David was standing in front of her holding out a broken tower.

"Pwease fix it," the child demanded, and Minerva happily complied, smiling at the excited boy.

Looking at the large Christmas tree, she realised that among the beautiful Christmas ornaments, there were several baubles, which were clearly hand-made. ' _If Lily made them, they'd be perfect,_ ' she thought in surprise, realising that one or several of the children had to have made them.

"Who made these baubles?" she asked in surprise, pointing to one with a large, black dog on it.

"Susan, Harry and Neville," Alice, who was sitting next to her on the sofa, supplied, sounding very proud of the kids.

"How?" Minerva enquired, incredulously, causing the younger witches to chuckle.

"Salazar and Godric have been teaching them all kind of things, among them wandless magic," Amelia informed her, smirking.

"I can't believe it," Minerva groaned, torn between admiration for the work of the five-year-olds and annoyance at the question of what to teach these children when they were going to arrive at Hogwarts as eleven-year-olds.

"They're going to be a hand-full, when they come to Hogwarts," Remus spoke up in clear amusement, "especially the little wonders, as they're not only being taught by Alice, the founders and myself, but also by their big sister and brothers."

"Don't worry," Sirius voiced with clear eagerness, "before they'll go to attend Hogwarts, we'll teach them the Animagus transformation and make them the Junior Marauders."

"Oh Merlin, no," Minerva groaned, remembering the mischief that the Marauders got themselves into all too well.

"Snivellus is going to have so much fun," Sirius roared in apparent excitement. "He won't know what happened to him."

"Minerva," Lily addressed the older witch, pensively." Do you think that Severus is happy at Hogwarts? When I met him once at the apothecary, he told me that he owed Dumbledore and thus had to teach at Hogwarts, but that he didn't really like teaching."

Minerva let out a long sigh, before she explained. "As you all probably know, Severus once joined the Death Eaters' ranks; however, at some point, he changed sides and became our spy." Seeing everyone nod in understanding, she continued, "After the war, everyone wearing the Dark Mark was threatened to be put in Azkaban, and while some people feigned having been forced to take the Dark Mark due to the Imperius curse, Severus did no such thing. Only Albus' word kept him out of the prison, which is why he thinks that he owes Albus."

Amelia scoffed. "Don't you think that two famous people like the Slytherins, the four founders of Hogwarts in their paintings, three Aurors and one Unspeakable as well as the heads of six noble and ancient houses would be able to do him the same favour of protecting him from the law?"

"Probably yes," Minerva admitted, smiling at the young Auror, who had quickly advanced to become the deputy head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. "I know that Lily would be a much better Potions professor. In fact, Severus, as brilliant as he is at Potions, is a horrible teacher. My Gryffindors are really suffering from his biased behaviour," she added, letting out a deep sigh. "However, we can't simply kick Severus out of his post and hire you, especially against the headmaster's wishes."

"I wouldn't even want to live at Hogwarts," Lily replied in a firm voice, "at least not before the young trio turns eleven. I'd only be available during the day, when Alice and Remus are teaching the kids."

Nodding in understanding, Minerva suggested, "You could consider working together with him or even opening your own apothecary together. Having a very much alive basilisk who's willing to provide you with ingredients should provide the necessary funds I suppose."

"Very well said, young witch," Salazar spoke up from the painting. "Lily, I suggest you consider that advice well, and put a large painting into the lab for me to join you."

"You should also have one in your sales room, where Salazar and Snape can scare off your customers together," Sirius added, grinning.

"I will consider the matter, but I don't think that it would be such a good idea," Lily replied, letting out a deep sigh, before everyone became distracted by a mistletoe floating through the air into the direction of the children.

 _'Beautiful decorations,'_ Minerva thought, while she followed the mistletoe's movement, wondering which of the children had summoned it. _'They're so cute though. The students are much unnerving,'_ she mused, before a sudden idea crossed her mind: _'Only five and a half years, and the oldest three of them are going to be my students.'_

She was brought back to the present, when Frank suddenly blurted out, "I have an idea," causing everyone to look at the Auror in expectation.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and your expectations for this story. Any opinions or ideas are very welcome._

 _Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it - to everyone else happy holidays!_


	14. The Shrieking Shack

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

"What idea, Daddy?" Aidan voiced everyone's question.

Frank smiled at his son, before turning to Lily. "Considering that you cured the werewolves, the Shrieking Shack won't be needed anymore, right?"

"I suppose so," Lily replied, looking at Frank in confusion.

"So," her friend continued, "why don't you rebuild that to a combined Potions classroom for Hogwarts as well as an apothecary on the Hogsmeade side of the wards? You could take turns teaching and taking care of the apothecary. Then between the two parts, you could have a large laboratory to do the brewing."

 _'Would it be possible to build a house across the wards?'_ Lily wondered, glancing at Salazar, who was nodding in apparent appreciation. She remained pensive for a moment before deciding, "That's an amazingly stunning idea."

"You could connect the door to the Potions classroom to some place in the castle, for example, one of the corridors near the entrance hall, in case it rains or the students don't have enough time to walk so far for their Potions class," Minerva supplied, apparently liking Frank's idea. "The question is if Albus will allow you to use the Shrieking Shack, considering that it belongs to Hogwarts and he's the headmaster."

"That doesn't matter, because Lily and I are the owners of Hogwarts," James spoke up, grinning.

"While Lily is the heir of Salazar and Helga, James is the heir of Godric and me," Rowena informed the deputy headmistress. "They can well override the headmaster's decisions."

"He might know that James Potter was a descendant of Godric Gryffindor though," Minerva replied, pensively. "So as long as he's not privy to your identities…" She slowly trailed off, giving Lily a questioning look.

"He won't have to know," Amelia stated. "It's enough that Mrs. Slytherin is the heir of Slytherin and Hufflepuff. If he knew that James was the heir of the two other founders, he'll think that the heritage has passed to Harry now, and since Dumbledore believes Alice to be his magical guardian, we merely need to have Alice's consent."

"Any time," Alice agreed, smiling broadly.

"Granddad, what do you think?" Lily enquired, turning to the painting.

"What exactly is the Shrieking Shack?" Salazar returned the question in apparent amusement.

"I believe that it's my place to explain," Remus spoke up and told the ancient wizard everything how Dumbledore had built the Shrieking Shack for him to retire during the full moon.

"All right, then you definitely won't need it anymore," Salazar decided. "Instead of building a completely new lab, you should consider making a connecting door to my lab, provided that this Severus is trustworthy enough to let him in. You can always charm the door to our bathroom so that he won't be able to see let alone enter our quarters."

"The question is if Snape will agree," Godric spoke up. "He really is a grumpy figure; always completely dressed in black and in a bad mood."

"I'll speak with him," James spoke up, pensively. "Siri.. no, Frank, would you perhaps join me for a conversation with Snape?"

"I'll accompany you," Minerva promised, looking from Frank, who nodded in confirmation, back to James. "Why don't we meet with him in my office first thing tomorrow morning?"

Everyone agreed, and Minerva sent a quick Patronus to Severus Snape inviting him into her office for a meeting with Sebastian Slytherin and Frank Longbottom at nine o'clock the following morning.

HP

Severus eyed the message, which he had received the previous evening, when he had just returned to his quarters after a much too time-consuming Christmas dinner in the Great Hall. _'Minerva, Slytherin, a broom maker, and Longbottom, an Auror,_ ' he thought in confusion. ' _What do they want from me, and why in the world am I not to tell Albus about it?'_ he wondered, as he readied himself for the meeting.

' _At least it's going to take place at Hogwarts, so that I don't have to leave the castle in that shitty weather. Moreover, Minerva has always been trustworthy,_ ' he thought, as he strode through the empty halls a short while later.

"Severus," Minerva greeted him, smiling. "Thanks for coming. Do I need to introduce Sebastian Slytherin? I trust that you remember Frank Longbottom."

"Of course," Severus replied, inwardly groaning like he always did, when he thought about his time as a student at Hogwarts. "I haven't met Mr. Slytherin yet, although his reputation precedes him."

"Mr. Snape," Slytherin spoke up, "we have an offer for you, which according to Minerva here will probably please you very much. However, in order for us to be able to inform you about the details, we need you to swear us a wizard's oath to keep my wife's and my secret to yourself." He stopped talking, casting Severus a questioning look.

Severus frowned. _'I'm not just going to swear a wizard's oath just because someone demands it,_ ' he thought, feeling very much upset by the request.

"Severus," Minerva said in a soft voice, gently placing her hand onto his shoulder so as to comfort him. "I strongly recommend that you comply. You will not regret it."

"According to Minerva, your Occlumency shields are good enough, so that the headmaster won't be able to witness our conversation?" Slytherin enquired, causing Severus to nod.

"Very well," he grudgingly agreed and, pulling his wand, stated, "I hereby swear on my magic to never reveal the secret of Mrs. and Mr. Slytherin to anyone."

"Severus," Minerva addressed him once again, "what they tell you now will sound extremely unbelievable; however, it is the truth." She gave him an encouraging nod before looking at Slytherin.

"I am James Potter," Slytherin spoke up, before he suddenly morphed into the form of his childhood nemesis, causing Severus to pale in devastation. However, his former classmate held up his hand. "I believe that I need to apologize to you for my behaviour during our common time at Hogwarts. I'm sorry that we did what we did, but we were children, and we've grown up, as I trust you have as well."

Severus nodded, grimly, motioning for the man to continue.

Changing his features back to his Slytherin form, his former classmate continued, "My wife and I, together with our friends including Minerva here have made a plan, which involves you – provided that you want to be included in this."

 _'His wife… Mrs. Slytherin must be Lily. She's alive._ ' Severus' thoughts went haywire. _'That's why she felt so familiar. But her husband is alive as well. She's still not for me to have. Thank Merlin she's alive though.'_ He almost missed Frank Longbottom's explanation, only catching the second half about connecting the new Potions classroom to one of the castle's main corridors.

 _'Where and why are they going to change the position of the Potions classroom?'_ Severus wondered, when Frank continued, "That way, Elisabeth and you could share both teaching and brewing."

"She would teach my classes and I could concentrate on brewing?" Severus blurted out in excitement. "That would be highly appreciated, however, did the headmaster agree to this plan?" he queried, quirking an eyebrow.

"He doesn't even know about it," Minerva admitted, sighing. "However, due to their heritage, the Slytherins are the owner of Hogwarts and as such entitled to overwrite Albus' decisions. We need to talk to Albus, however, before doing that, we wanted to ask you if you'd be interested at all."

"Just one thing, Snape," Slytherin spoke up. "Dumbledore doesn't know about our identities, and we wish to keep it at that. Just so you know. Don't forget about your oath."

"I won't," Severus confirmed. "And yes, I'm very interested. It's a fantastic idea," he added in determination. ' _Anything that enables me to quit teaching or at least teach less classes would be fine with me,'_ he thought, _'and if it's working together with Lily, it's even better.'_

Deep in thoughts, he followed the small group to the headmaster's office, where Minerva presented the idea to the headmaster.

Severus became even more excited upon hearing the first half of the story, which he had missed earlier.

"First of all, I'm glad to meet you, Mr. Slytherin," Albus greeted his former student. "I only wished you had brought your wife with you, as I'd really like to get to know her as well."

"I'm sorry, Headmaster, but my wife was otherwise occupied this morning," Slytherin replied, promising to introduce her to the headmaster at the next opportunity.

"Severus," Albus then turned to him. "Do you want to work together with Mrs. Slytherin and share the positions of Potions professor and Potions Master for Hogwarts and as Potions Master for the apothecary with her?" he enquired.

"Yes please," Severus quickly confirmed, feeling ecstatic at the idea.

"What about the position as head of Slytherin?" Albus continued, giving him a sharp look.

Everyone looked to the portraits of the former headmasters, when Salazar Slytherin suddenly spoke up from Godric's portrait. "I wish my great granddaughter to become the head of Slytherin, but she told me that she's only willing to comply, when her son David is going to enter Hogwarts, which will only be in about eight years' time. Until then, I'd like to ask Professor Snape to continue caring for my little snakes."

Severus lightly bowed in the direction of the founder, confirming, "Of course, Professor Slytherin."

While the others discussed plans for the re-building of the Shrieking Shack, Severus tuned them out and busied himself with his own thoughts. _'I get to have my own apothecary together with Lily, and she's going to take over most of my classes. I don't have to teach so many dunderheads anymore,'_ he thought, feeling absolutely delighted.

"Severus, you look outright happy," Albus observed, giving him a questioning look.

"Yes sir, I love this idea," Severus confirmed, happily.

"Oh Merlin, he even smiles," Minerva chuckled, causing Severus to send her a menacing glare.

"Well, if that's all," he voiced, as he rose from his chair, and the headmaster adjourned the meeting, instructing them to keep him updated about the progress with the Shrieking Shack.

Once they left the headmaster's office, Minerva handed him a small parchment. "Elisabeth told me to invite you to Slytherin Manor for New Year's Eve. We'll floo call you to fix the exact time."

Muttering a small thanks, Severus handed the parchment back and retired to his quarters to think about the big news in peace. _'That is the best Christmas present I received in a very long time,'_ he thought, as he skimmed his wardrobe for robes in any colour but black, only to decide that he had to go shopping right away.

HP

During the three days following Christmas, the extended family spent much time exploring the Hogwarts grounds around the Shrieking Shack as well as the space at Hogsmeade right outside the wards of Hogwarts.

"How can we buy the land here?" Lily enquired, feeling relieved to see that the ground right outside of the border of Hogwarts was not used for anything. "I just hope that it doesn't belong to anyone, especially not to any Death Eaters or such," she added, pensively.

"I'm fairly certain that it doesn't belong to any person but to the village of Hogsmeade," Amelia reassured her friend, promising to make sure that the Slytherins could buy it as soon as the ministry would be open again on the second of January.

"Thanks Meli," Lily replied, smiling.

HP

In the morning of New Year's Eve, the older trio retired to an unused bedroom on the third floor.

"What are we doing here?" Susan asked, giving the boys a questioning look.

"The professor who's coming tonight," Harry spoke up in a hushed voice, "he's the Potions professor, right?"

"Yes, I think so," Susan replied, shrugging.

"Why Harry?" Neville enquired, causing Harry to chuckle.

"I thought that perhaps he can help us brew a prank potion for the adults," he admitted, grinning.

"Oh, that's a great idea. But not only for the adults, for everyone," Neville demanded.

"Ah, no, not the little ones," Susan contradicted. "Do you want to hear their whining the whole evening?"

"Oh all right, only the adults then," Neville agreed. "Did you have an idea what to do to them?"

Harry shook his head. "Not really. Maybe we could make their hair a different colour or such. We could ask Padfoot for advice."

"No, not Padfoot," Susan disagreed. "He's not a Potions Master, and he wouldn't know what could harm them. Perhaps they're pregnant again with three more babies. We have to consider that, too."

"Really?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Do you think they want more children?" Neville added, equally astounded.

"Well, the little ones are going to be three in summer, and if they want babies then, they should already be pregnant," Susan reasoned, recalling how Sirius, James and Frank had always been very protective of their wives, when they were expecting their younger siblings.

The two boys were still considering her argument, when Spirit popped up in front of them.

"Mistress Lily is looking for you," the elf announced. "Please go and wash your hands and come to the dining room for lunch."

"Thanks Spirit," the three children replied, simultaneously.

"Let's just ask Professor Snape for an idea," Harry decided, and Susan and Neville immediately agreed, before they left the room and dashed downstairs.

HP

 _'I just hope that James and Sirius will behave towards Severus,'_ Lily thought, as she waited for her former best friend to come through the Floo. _'Otherwise, it's going to be very hard to work together on a daily basis. Even if we use the potions lab in the founders' quarters, one or the other member of our extended family will show up every now and then.'_

When Severus finally stepped out of the fireplace, Lily cast him a surprised look. When she had met him at Diagon Alley shortly before David was born, he had been wearing black robes and looked outright unhappy. Today, however, he was wearing Slytherin green robes and smiled at her.

"Severus," she greeted him, returning the smile.

"Is that really you?" he breathed. "You're alive."

"Yes," Lily confirmed.

"What am I supposed to call you?" Severus asked in a soft voice.

Lily sighed. "Here at home, you can call me Lily, but only if you're sure to remember to call me Elisabeth at any other time. Maybe just call me Eli."

"All right," Severus agreed, before he enquired, "Why are you keeping your identity a secret?"

"Dumbledore is a meddling old coot," Lily replied, her voice laced with anger at the old wizard. "On top of that, we're certain that Voldemort isn't really gone, and we don't want him or his Death Eaters to know…" She slowly trailed off, giving him an uncertain look.

"He's not gone? Oh Merlin, I hope you're not right for once," Severus replied, only to add, "It's a good time now without the necessity of spying."

When they entered the Parlour and Lily introduced Severus to everyone, the older trio stepped in front of the man.

"Professor," Harry spoke up in a firm voice, "would you please follow us for a moment? We'd like to ask you something."

"Sure," Severus agreed, giving her a questioning look, to which she could only shrug.

"Where are you going?" she enquired, when the children led the Potions Master out of the Parlour.

"Potions lab," Susan informed her, grinning mischievously, before she hurried after the three wizards.

HP

Severus followed the eager children with mixed feelings. _'They boy looks like Potter,'_ he thought in disgust, before he tried to convince himself that he was also Lily's child. _'I wonder what they want,'_ he thought, feeling extremely uncomfortable as he recalled how the Marauders had pranked him at every opportunity.

He almost sighed in relief, when the children led him into a very well equipped potions lab.

"Professor," Harry spoke up again, "thanks for coming with us. We'd like to prank the adults," he continued and explained about the children's earlier discussion.

"Have you assisted in the brewing of potions before?" Severus enquired in a stern voice, while he let a series of prank potions pass in front of his mind.

"Yes sir," the girl assured him. "Harry is the best of us at brewing, I'm good at preparing ingredients, and Neville usually fetches the ingredients for us."

Severus smirked. "Very well then, let's begin. It'll take about half an hour to brew." He conjured a parchment and made a short recipe appear. "Are you already capable of reading?"

"Yes sir," the Longbottom boy replied, eagerly. "What is the potion going to do?"

Severus decided to ignore the question. _'They seem quite alert for their age,'_ he thought. _'They should be about five by now.'_

To his surprise, Harry and Susan were able to brew at least as well as any second-year student, and half an hour later, a perfect potion was simmering in a cauldron.

"You did that very well," he commended the children, who smiled happily.

"Thank you so much for helping us," Susan was the first to reply.

"Excuse me sir, but what is this potion going to do?" Harry enquired.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out at dinner time," Severus informed them, smirking. The children began to beg and plead for him to reveal the secret, however, he remained firm.

"Let's hand the phial to Spirit, our house-elf," Susan resolved, as she carefully took the phial from him and handed it to a house-elf. "Please put this into the adult's drinks at dinner," she instructed the elf.

"One moment," Severus interrupted the girl. Turning to the elf, he added, "You can put this into everyone's drinks. It's completely harmless, even for the children."

Apparently realising that the elf cast her a questioning look, the girl confirmed, "All right Spirit. Please do so."

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and your expectations for this story. Any opinions or ideas are very welcome._


	15. The Slytherin Spicy Solutions

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

Lily observed the three oldest return to the Parlour together with Severus. While the Potions Master was wearing an indifferent expression, the children looked outright mischievous, although they seemed to do their best to hide it.

"Good that you're back," she addressed them. "The elves told us that dinner is already waiting for us in the dining room."

"Dinner!" the younger trio shouted and dashed out of the Parlour, closely followed by their siblings, causing Lily to roll her eyes in exasperation. _'I wonder if they're practising to talk simultaneously. It happens too often recently to be just by chance.'_

Glad that Alice and Amelia had already taken care of Severus making him swear an oath to keep Regulus' secret, she followed the group, hoping that they did not have to add anyone else to the extended family, as it was slowly getting too big to handle without neglecting anyone. _'I just hope that James and Sirius are going to behave towards Severus,'_ she could not help thinking, as she lowered herself into the seat between Susan and David.

Severus and Regulus were sitting opposite of her, talking about how they both had defied the Dark Lord.

"Severus," Sirius suddenly spoke up from Harry's side, causing everyone, who was sitting nearby, to look at the Marauder with interest. "What?" Sirius asked, apparently realising that he was becoming the centre of attention. He tentatively took a large gulp from his glass, before he continued.

"Severus, I'd like to apologize for what I did to you in our fifth year," he sang according to the carol of a Christmas song, causing the whole family to blurt out laughing.

"I might forgive you, but things like attempted murder are not easy to forget," Severus spoke a low-voiced response. "Let's try to begin anew though, if you're willing to do so as well," he added, before he followed the Marauder's lead and took a sip from his glass.

Lily noticed that the corners of his mouth bent into a small smile, when Sirius sang a positive reply.

"Who in the world did that to you?" James enquired, singing to the melody of a different Christmas carol.

Lily smirked, deciding to not give Severus and the children out to the others. However, she sighed in relief, when it was bed-time for the children, who were thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to sing nonstop. Climbing up the large staircase, their song turned into a chorus to make sure that she was going to wake them up before midnight.

"Of course we'll wake you up," she sang back, soothingly.

"You must," Harry insisted. "Dad and Padfoot said they've made fireworks, which they're going to do in the park at midnight."

"Congrats to a well done prank potion by the way," Lily replied, causing the three older children to stare at her, flabbergasted.

"We didn't know what it was going to do," Susan informed her, yawning. "But we brewed it all by ourselves."

"Well done," Amelia, who had silently followed the group upstairs, spoke up, smirking.

"Mummy, can we bwew pwank poshun wif de pfessor tomowwow?" Niamh enquired, looking at her mother, wide-eyed.

"Oh yeah, we bwew," Aidan added, yawning widely.

"Let's ask the professor in the morning," David suggested, eagerly.

HP

When Lily and Amelia went to wake the children up at a quarter to midnight, only the older trio and David bothered to get up in order to watch the fireworks in the park. "Well, I didn't really expect the small ones to get up at this time," she said to Severus, who seemed to be enjoying himself very much. _'Thank Merlin the prank potion has worn off by now,'_ she thought. _'As funny as it was, it was quite annoying. Still, I'm glad that Severus got along so well with the children.'_

Severus even gave David a piggy-ride through the garden, as the three-year-old was obviously too tired to walk through the snow.

Exactly at midnight, James and Sirius began with their fireworks display next to the lake, and everyone stared at the large forms of flowers and animals in amazement.

"How did they do that?" Frank asked, clearly in awe.

"I'm not sure, but I think it's a combination of several charms and runes," Regulus replied, pensively.

"Lily, aren't you a Charms Mistress as well?" Severus spoke up, carefully putting David onto his feet. "Do you know how this works?"

Lily shook her head. "I don't have a clue," she admitted. "I only know that the two of them have been studying this for a couple of weeks."

"It was absolutely worth the effort," Minerva spoke up, and Lily full-heartedly agreed. "This is beautiful."

It was almost morning, when the adults finally headed to bed, knowing that they could rely on the elves to care for the children in the morning. Lily tried to convince Severus to stay overnight, however, the Potions Master decided that it would be wiser to return to Hogwarts.

"We don't want Albus to get suspicious," he said, smiling. "Thank you so much for a most enjoyable time though."

"Feel free to come back at any time," James offered. "We'll send you an invitation for our first meeting with the architects, as soon as we've managed to buy the land."

"Where are you going to speak with them?" Lily enquired, giving her husband a questioning look.

"We'll meet in the Shack," James suggested, and everyone agreed.

HP

"Perhaps we should buy some more land and add a broom shop as well as a house for us to live in order to be nearer to our working places and to Hogwarts," James suggested, when the extended family met again for a very late breakfast.

"There's no need to buy another house," Godric spoke up from the painting. "If you want to be near Hogwarts or your shops, you can simply use Gryffindor Manor."

Everyone stared at the older wizard in surprise. "Gryffindor Manor?" Lily enquired. "I didn't know that there was such a building at all."

"That's because James never bothered to check our vault," Rowena replied, smirking.

"Just behind the first row of trees, not far from the Hogsmeade border, there are two trees forming some kind of portal. If you step through the portal, you'll be at our old manor. I don't know in what condition it is though."

"Shall we go and have a look?" Susan spoke up with obvious eagerness.

"Yeah, this sounds great," Harry agreed, giving Lily a pleading look.

"We don't even know if the manor is still standing, let alone if the wards would allow us entrance," Lily cautioned them. Turning to the Unspeakable, she asked, "Regulus, do you believe that it would be safe to try it out?"

Regulus shrugged, looking at the founders of Hogwarts. "It probably depends on how it's warded," he said, questioningly.

Godric cleared his throat. "Of course I don't have a clue what our descendants did, but if it's still in the condition in which it was in our time, there shouldn't be a problem. Let me go and check if I can find out something. There should be a painting in the Parlour, which I could visit. Please give me a moment."

HP

An hour later, the extended family travelled through the fireplace to the founders' quarters at Hogwarts, from where they left in search of the portal leading to Gryffindor Manor.

As soon as they had passed the two oak trees, of which Godric had told them that Rowena had charmed them to remain the way there were for an eternity, the forest vanished from the sight and was replaced by a carpet of white sand that was stretched out along the shore of the sea. To their right side, they could see the manor. It was made of stone like Hogwarts; however, from the style of the building, it resembled Slytherin Manor. A large stone wall surrounded the area, which seemed to not stop at the shore but somehow melt into it.

"This is beautiful," Lily gasped, nodding gratefully, when Alice waved her wand to cancel the disillusion charms, which they had used at Hogwarts to not attract the attention of any of Minerva's colleagues.

"That it is," James agreed and stepped forward to greet the house-elf, which stood right in front of the entrance to the building.

"Good afternoon Master James," she greeted him. "I is Dredi, and I is the only elf at Gryffindor Manor."

Dredi gave the large family a complete tour through the house, and to Lily's surprise, the manor was in a good condition in spite of the fact that Dredi had been the sole house-elf for quite some time.

Like at Slytherin Manor, a huge painting of the four founders of Hogwarts greeted them in the Parlour.

"Ah, welcome to the manor. I see you found it," Godric spoke up.

"Yes, we found it, and it's amazing," Minerva was the first to respond, causing everyone to nod in amazement.

"Why don't you take the children out for a swim?" Helga suggested, causing the six young witches and wizards to squeal in delight.

"Err, Helga, today is New Year's Day," Sirius informed her. "It might be a tad too cold for the kids."

The founders began to laugh. "We're well aware of the fact that it is winter," Rowena informed them, "however, the beach and the sea are charmed to be of an agreeable temperature. Just go and try it out," she added, chuckling.

Lily quietly followed the group outside, not aware that from this time onwards, she would not have a quiet minute, as the children were going to want to spend every wake moment at the beach.

HP

From that time onwards, the extended family used both Slytherin and Gryffindor Manor for their daily life. With Rowena's help, Lily developed a charm to make a connecting door between the Parlours of both manors, which was usually kept open for everyone to freely travel between the houses. She also added a huge board to one wall of the Slytherin Manor Parlour, which displayed the exact location of every member of the extended family at all times. It was quite some work to add each of the many small rooms; however, Lily insisted on taking the time to make it as detailed as possible.

"Without that, we'd only be always searching for the little ones," she said to Amelia, when she presented the board to the rest of the family.

 _'Well, the location of Gryffindor Manor is really convenient,_ ' she thought, _'considering that it's only a five-minute walk from our new apothecary as well as the Potions classroom. I'm also going to make a shortcut door from the Gryffindor Parlour to the Parlour of the founders' quarters, so that we're directly connected to Hogwarts, too,'_ she resolved.

Another advantage of Gryffindor Manor was that it contained several larger suites, so that the Slytherins, the Black-Bones and the Longbottoms could each have their own family quarters, even if the whole family continued to spend most of their free time in the Parlour.

The re-building of the Shrieking Shack was proceeding well, and the new Potions classroom was supposed to be ready for use by the beginning of the next school year.

Severus had turned out to be a great help with the planning of the re-building and the construction of the apothecary. He had also become used to suddenly being a member of a large family and an honorary uncle to six small children. Whenever possible, he spent the weekends at one of the manors together with the extended family, careful to not attract the headmaster's attention by his absence. Fortunately, the entrance to the double manor was only a short walk or a floo call away from his living quarters.

"We also need a connecting door from our office behind the Potions classroom to the Parlour at the manor," Severus reminded Lily a few days before the beginning of the school year.

"Oh Merlin, I completely forgot about that," Lily said in surprise, giving her friend a grateful look, before she hurried to make the requested door.

HP

"This is cool," David spoke up one day. "Look in five years, the three of you go to Hogwarts, and Niamh, Aidan and I remain here. But you can come and visit at any time, because you can easily get to the portal."

"Yeah, that's true," Neville agreed, grinning, "especially as it's almost on our way to the Potions classroom."

"I don't know if we're allowed to run over the grounds though," Susan threw in. "Perhaps we have to use the connection door to the Potions classroom."

"You can still come to the portal at any time," David insisted, causing the older boys to nod.

"That we'll do," Harry promised, smirking. "We also have Dad's invisibility cloak. I just hope he'll allow us to take it with us to Hogwarts and…"

"… and not tell Mum about it," David finished what he was going to say.

"Do you think Mum is going to take points from our houses?" Susan enquired. "She'll be a professor soon."

"We just can't do any pranks in her classes," Harry replied, shrugging.

HP

On the first of September, Lily attended the welcoming feast at Hogwarts as Elisabeth Slytherin and was introduced as the new Potions professor, who was going to teach the younger students from first to fourth year, while Professor Snape was going to remain the head of Slytherin and would only teach the fifth to seventh year students.

"Together with Professor Slytherin, Professor Snape is going to run the apothecary 'Slytherin Spicy Solutions' in Hogsmeade," Dumbledore explained to the students, efficiently keeping his displeasure at the solution, in which he did not have any say, from his face.

Huge applause followed the headmaster's announcement, and Lily fondly regarded the Gryffindor table, from where the applause was especially loud.

 _'I must be careful to equally award points to all houses,'_ she resolved, looking forward to teach the students.

HP

Alice and Remus continued taking turns teaching the smaller children and the older Trio, who were now six years old. In addition, the two groups had study sessions with each of the founders of Hogwarts, who taught them whatever came into their mind. Regulus instructed them in Defence, and Severus occasionally brewed potions with the older Trio. He especially took a liking to Harry, who was exceptionally adept at brewing. However, from time to time, the children were allowed to play on the beach after studying well. During that time, Harry often made his way to the apothecary building, where – if ever possible – Severus allowed him to assist in the lab. At the same time, Neville used to sneak into the Hogwarts greenhouses, where he helped Professor Sprout care for her plants. Susan preferred to remain with the younger Trio looking out for their little siblings.

The professors at Hogwarts did not know about Gryffindor Manor and that the Slytherin, Black-Bones and Longbottom children were living so close by, however, they were aware that the kids often visited Professor Slytherin and Professor Snape in the combined Potions & Apothecary building. To Lily's relief, the headmaster had expressly authorised their presence on the Hogwarts grounds, apparently not realising that one Harry Potter belonged to the group.

HP

One day, Lily took Harry aside for a private conversation and told him everything about a certain Halloween five years ago, beginning from how Harry had saved her and his father's life over the copy's stay at the Dursleys' to Dumbledore's manipulations towards Baby Harry.

"The headmaster is a good man, Harry," she told him, "however, he's a meddling old coot and does everything so that it fits into his plan for as he calls it 'the Greater Good'. We don't trust him, which is why we are still hiding our true identity from him. He doesn't know who we are, so he believes that your parents are dead. As far as he knows, you're living together with Neville and Aunt Alice, who's your godmother."

"So I must be careful to not call you Mum," Harry concluded, smiling.

"Exactly my child," Lily confirmed. "Just call me Aunt Eli like Neville does. At the school, you could simply call me Professor though."

"Yeah, that might be easier," Harry agreed. "At home, I can still call you Mum though, right?" he added, quirking an eyebrow.

' _Oh Merlin, he spends too much time with Severus,'_ Lily thought upon seeing his very Snape-like expression.

"Of course dear, if you're sure that you don't forget to not do it in front of others than family," Lily reassured him, before she pulled him into a motherly hug.

"Mum, I'm so glad that we manged to save you and Dad and that we have David and also all the others of our family," Harry said, smiling. "I love them all."

HP

Lily thoroughly enjoyed teaching the students and looking after the apothecary together with Severus. She was especially happy knowing that the children seemed to love their life with her working at the big castle as well. They frequently showed up in the apothecary and were taking great interest in the broom shop, which her husband was just building up next door.

It was a little more than a year later, when the six children played a muggle nativity play for the adults, that Minerva let out a deep sigh. "We have a big problem."

Lily stared at the older witch in shock – together with everyone else.

"When these kids come to Hogwarts in three respectively six years' time, I don't have a clue what to teach them," Minerva explained. "The magic which they used in that play – part of what the older three did was so advanced that not even our fifth-years would be able to cast it, let alone wandlessly."

"Don't worry, I already have a plan," Severus spoke up, causing everyone to stare at him with expressions reaching from surprise and disbelief to expectation.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and your expectations for this story._

 _All the best for 2019!_


	16. The Marauders Miracles

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

"What I mean is," Severus began to explain under the scrutinising look of the whole family, "Harry already spends every free minute in the Potions lab and Neville in the greenhouses. Pomona Sprout and I could either hire them as our student assistants or even make them our apprentices – depending on their wishes. Susan might be a good assistant to Poppy – if she is interested in studying Healing."

"I'm sure she'd love that," Lily was the first to reply, causing Amelia and Alice to nod in agreement.

"That's a wonderful idea," Remus spoke up, "and I'm certain that the children would be thrilled to hear it. They're really so much advanced that it wouldn't make sense for them to just only attend normal classes."

Nevertheless, the adults decided to keep the idea a secret and only speak to the older trio about it when they became students at Hogwarts.

"Let's wait until two weeks after the beginning of their first Hogwarts year and then speak with them, respectively with the headmaster," Severus suggested, and everyone agreed.

"I'll ask Susan if she's interested in Healing and would like to assist Poppy from time to time though," Alice said, pensively, turning to Lily and Severus. "Could one of you please make sure that Poppy would be all right with it?"

"Of course," Severus promised, smirking. "She will be, but we'll ask her."

HP

Like Severus had promised, Pomfrey was delighted to have the girl assist from time to time. Even if she was only seven and a half years old, Susan was very responsible and even able to do magic. Since the children had been instructed to not do wandless magic outside the family's home and keep their abilities a secret, the Healer only found out by chance. One afternoon, Susan was so tired that she forgot about the agreement and simply summoned something from a shelf, causing the healer to stare at her in disbelief.

Confirming with Elisabeth and Severus that they were aware of the fact, Poppy then proceeded to systematically teach Susan easy healing spells, much to the girl's pleasure.

Unbeknownst to the adults, Susan taught the spells to Niamh, and her younger sister was delighted to learn something that the boys knew nothing about.

"I wished anyone was interested in Alchemy," James said one day. "I could very well use an assistant once you're old enough to attend Hogwarts."

"Can you tell me about it, Dad," David spoke up, "so that I can see if I'm interested?"

James nodded, happily.

"When they're at Hogwarts, they won't be able to assist in the shop, because it's outside the wards," Lily informed him, sighing.

"You could, however, convince the headmaster to add Alchemy to the elective classes for the sixth- and seventh-year students," Severus suggested. "That way, David would be able to assist you if you connected your lab to your office or classroom at Hogwarts."

"You could just extend your building, so the lab and the classroom are on the Hogwarts side of the wards like the Potions classroom," Remus suggested, causing James to stare at him, pensively.

"That might be an idea," he agreed. "We'll just have to see if the headmaster agrees to that specific new subject first."

Minerva let out a long sigh. "He'll surely agree. I don't know if you're aware of it, but Albus studied under Nicholas Flamel as well. He only didn't take his mastery but chose Transfiguration, as he didn't believe there was enough interest in the subject to teach it at Hogwarts. If the owners of Hogwarts invent it and don't even want him to pay for it, I don't see a reason for him to refuse."

"Of course we don't want him to pay for anything. Just like Severus is now being paid by the apothecary, Lily and I earn enough with the apothecary and the broom shop to not need any money from Hogwarts," James replied, shrugging.

HP

One day, when the extended family was gathered in the Parlour, after the children had gone to bed, Regulus turned to Lily, "I need your help."

"Of course dear," Lily replied, gently. "What happened?"

Regulus let out a deep sigh. "A few years ago, Sirius asked you for a small phial of basilisk venom. As we told you at that time, Voldemort made Horcruxes, which made it possible for him to not die on that Halloween night."

"Oh right, that's what the thing behind Copy Harry's scar was, right?" Lily replied.

Nodding in confirmation, Regulus continued, "It's not easy to destroy them. However, basilisk venom is one method, and I managed to destroy the one which I had in my possession."

"Congratulations," Alice said, warmly. "That's a great achievement."

Regulus smiled, however, Lily noticed that the smile did not reach his eyes. "I believe that he made seven," he stated. "One of them is in the old Gaunt Shack, and I went there this morning. However, it's protected by a bunch of snakes that wanted to attack me. I thought that, considering that you're able to converse with snakes, perhaps you could accompany me and talk them out of attacking me," he explained, questioningly.

"Yes, I will," Lily replied, simply.

"Not without Sirius and me," James protested.

Regulus rolled his eyes in apparent exasperation. "In case you forgot, I'm an Unspeakable and certainly able to protect Lily, but feel free to accompany us."

"Let me take care of these snakes," Salazar suddenly spoke up from the painting. "Lily, take me with you in the small photo frame you showed us the other day."

Lily nodded. "Thanks Granddad. If anyone can convince snakes to assist us, it'll definitely be you," she said, feeling extremely relieved at her great grandfather's offer.

"It won't take long, before your son will be the one to control the snakes," Rowena commented, chuckling.

"Do you have any idea where the other Horcruxes might be?" Severus enquired, raising an eyebrow.

Regulus nodded. "Yes, I believe that I know what most of them are and where they could be. There are still a few unknown factors though, and it's not easy to find them."

"I will assist getting rid of them," Severus announced in a firm voice, and Regulus nodded in apparent understanding.

"Let's take one after another," he replied, letting out a deep sigh.

HP

To Lily's relief, Salazar managed to get the snakes in grip, and the trip was a short one, after which Regulus efficiently destroyed the Horcrux.

"Thanks a lot for your assistance," he said, when he returned to the family home later on, presenting Lily with the ring.

"Is that the resurrection stone?" James enquired, giving the ring a sharp look.

"It must be," Regulus confirmed. "It's one of the three Hallows.

"My invisibility cloak is another one," James replied, pensively.

"What is the third?" Lily enquired, looking from James to Regulus.

"The Elder wand," Sirius informed her. "I think that Dumbledore has it though."

HP

From the following school year onwards, Alchemy was introduced to Hogwarts as an elective subject for the NEWT classes.

Hearing that the owner of Slytherin Sweepers was holding the class, almost all sixth- and seventh-years wanted to be a part of it. Therefore, James decided to divide both years in two classes each and teach from Monday through Thursday at eight o'clock in the morning.

"It won't matter if I only open the shop at 10 o'clock except for Fridays," he told the extended family, and everyone easily agreed.

"Ten o'clock in the morning to six o'clock in the evening is a long enough time, especially as your shop is even open on Saturdays," Lily voiced what everyone else thought.

"Moony," Sirius suddenly spoke up, grinning broadly. "What do you say I quit the Aurors, and we open a joke shop together right next to the broom shop? The Marauders Miracles would make a nice addition to Hogsmeade."

"Sirius!" Amelia blurted out in clear shock. "I hope you're only joking. We need you."

"Not really," Sirius admitted. "For the beginning, I could still work for the Aurors half-time and only open the shop in the afternoon, at least until Moony is ready to join me." Turning to the other Marauders, he added, "Before long, my wife is going to be my boss, which she's already at home, so maybe better to get away as long as I can."

"Sirius!" Amelia scolded him. "Am I such an awful wife? Really?"

"No my love, you aren't," Sirius replied and stepped over to pull her into a passionate hug.

"Men," Lily said in exasperation, causing Alice and Amelia to agree full-heartedly.

"May I enquire what you're going to sell at the Marauders Miracles?" Severus suddenly spoke up, glaring at the women.

"Oh, I was hoping that James could provide some items made with the means of Alchemy and that you and Lily could provide the prank potions for us," Sirius replied, grinning mischievously.

"Well, we can do that, provided that twenty percent of each sale goes to the apothecary," Severus suggested, smirking.

"Ten percent," Sirius corrected him, firmly.

 _'Good idea,'_ Lily thought, casting Severus an appreciative smile.

"With a provision of ten percent for the Slytherin Sweepers I agree as well," James added.

HP

Everyone agreed, and during the summer before the older trio was going to attend Hogwarts, the Marauders Miracles opened its doors to the public. Due to its position between the Slytherin Spicy Solutions and the Slytherin Sweepers, which were both extremely popular, the shop attracted many visitors right from the beginning.

"Thank Merlin Moony has time to help with the shop," Sirius groaned in the evening of the opening of the Marauders Miracles. "I wouldn't have been able to do that alone."

"Padfoot, I can assist tomorrow if you wish," Harry spoke up, looking questioningly from Lily to Severus, "at least for a few hours."

"Harry," Severus spoke up in a firm voice. "We appreciate that you assist with the brewing; however, don't forget that you're doing this out of your own free will. If there is anything else that you wish to do, like assisting with the joke shop, you're of course free to do so."

"Well said," Lily agreed, "and you know that, sweetie, don't you?"

"Of course," Harry replied, grinning.

"Enjoy your last free time for a while though," James warned him. "Once you enter Hogwarts, you won't be able to do what you want, especially considering that you have very strict Potions professors to beware of."

"James," Lily hissed, playfully slapping his arm.

"Ouch," James pouted. "That hurt."

"Show me," Niamh demanded, playfully. "I'll make you all better."

"Thanks," James replied, grinning at the seven-year-old.

HP

While Harry assisted in the Potions lab and the joke shop, Neville spent most of the holidays in the Green Houses assisting Professor Sprout, and Susan and Niamh helped Madam Pomfrey prepare for the new school year.

The older trio also spent much time discussing in which house they were going to be sorted.

"You can't decide where you wish to be sorted," Remus warned them after hearing them discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each of the houses for an hour. "The Sorting Hat will sort you where he believes you to belong."

"We can simply call Sopho and ask him," Harry suggested; however, Susan cautioned him.

"You don't know if he'll accept that you call him. Maybe it has to be Mum or Dad."

"Let's ask the founders in the painting later on," Harry decided.

However, Niamh had an idea. "Why don't we invite Sopho for our birthday party?" she suggested, and everyone immediately liked the suggestion.

"Harry, will you invite him then?" Neville enquired.

"Yes," Harry replied in determination. "I'm going to ask Granddad Salazar if that's all right to do though."

"Why not Granddad Godric?" David asked, shrugging. "He's the one who made the Hat."

"All right," Harry agreed, thinking, _'As much as I love being at home with everyone, I look forward to just being ourselves at Hogwarts without the little trio. They can really be annoying.'_

"Of course you can try to summon Sopho," Rowena was the first to reply to his question. "We don't know if he already obeys to you, but it won't hurt to try it out."

"Wait a moment," Godric demanded and left the painting, only to return a minute later. "I asked Sopho, and he assured me that he'd answer any summons from you."

"Thank you so much Granddad Godric," Harry replied, enthusiastically. "I'll invite him to our birthday party then."

HP

As usual, the extended family celebrated everyone's birthday together on the 31st of July. Fortunately, it was a Sunday, and no one had to work, so that everyone was able to gather on the beach for a breakfast picnic.

"When should I summon Sopho?" Harry asked, once he was finished eating.

"In the afternoon," eight-year-old Niamh replied, grinning. "He may have a piece of my birthday cake.

"A Hat can't eat cake," Aidan contradicted, rolling his eyes.

"Why don't you invite him for the Marauders' theatre this afternoon?" Sirius suggested. "He'll surely like watching the show."

"All right," Harry agreed, and when everyone was finished eating from an enormous birthday cake in the form of a Snitch, he called the Sorting Hat.

"Hi there, thank you so much for coming," he greeted the Hat. "We thought you might like to enjoy watching the Marauders' show."

"I'll sure like to watch," Sopho replied and made himself comfortable on a perch, which Lily had placed on the beach for the Hat to sit on.

The show was more like a circus performed by Remus and five Animagi: One stag, one black dog, one chameleon, a marmalade cat and a crocodile, and it was very funny. Even the Sorting Hat seemed to enjoy himself a lot, as he pulled his brim to a broad smile every now and then.

When it was finished, Sopho turned to Harry. "Thank you so much for inviting me to this display. It was much fun. Usually, I have to sit in the headmaster's office, having to listen to outright boring conversations. This was a very nice change."

"You're welcome," Harry replied, smiling. "By the way, may we ask you something?" he enquired.

The Hat raised his brim. "Let me guess that it's about your upcoming Sorting, young man?"

"Yes," Harry replied, uncomfortably. "Wherever you sort us, will you please sort the three of us together?"

"Hmmm," Sopho replied, letting out a deep sigh. "That depends on where you wish to be sorted. It's not easy for me to make such decisions. If the three of you agree on one house, in which you really wish to get sorted together, then I shall do you the favour – if it's only as a thank you for today," he added as an afterthought.

"Thank you so much," Harry replied, glancing at Susan and Neville. ' _We'll just have to agree on a house. That might be difficult though, as Neville will prefer Hufflepuff, Susan Ravenclaw and I Slytherin,'_ he thought, feeling slightly disappointed.

"We'll think about it," Susan informed the Hat. "So far, we only know where we don't want to go, and that's Gryffindor."

"What?" Loud protest came from where Sirius and James were sitting. "Gryffindor is the best of all houses."

"I might disagree with that," Severus spoke up, smirking, before he handed each of the three eleven-year-olds a small phial, uttering "Happy Birthday."

"Thank you very much," the three chorused, before Neville enquired, "What is it?"

Harry curiously eyed the phial in his hand, however, could not recall having seen a potion with that specific colour before. Seeing the professor look at him in clear expectation, he shook his head. "I don't have a clue, sir."

"It's the Animagus potion," Severus informed the children. "You must decide on which animal you wish to become and gather a hair, a feather or whatever from one and add it to the potion before drinking it. The potion will then help you to transform for the first time."

"And then we'll be able to transform by ourselves?" Susan asked in clear excitement, causing the professor to smirk.

"Exactly," he confirmed.

"Totally cool," Harry blurted out. "Thank you so much, Sir."

"Thank you very much," Susan and Neville echoed.

"That gives us something to think about," Harry added, pensively.

"Yeah, this is difficult," Susan muttered, and Neville nodded his agreement.

"Sir," Harry spoke up, slowly, "is it possible to become a magical animal?"

Severus let out a deep sigh. "While it is theoretically possible, practically it's difficult," he replied and explained, "You'd need Tears of Atlantis for that, and this is not easy to lay your hands on."

"A Crystal of Atlantis?" James enquired. "Somewhere, I've heard of such a thing. Oh right, I think I can make one for you."

"Yes please," Harry blurted out in excitement.

"Three please," Susan added, giving James a pleading look.

Severus nodded. "An Alchemist should be able to make one," he confirmed. "If you can make one for each of the children and they add three drops of their blood to it, they'll gain a liquid called Tears of Atlantis to add to the Animagus potion in order to make it magical. It only works if their magic is extremely strong; however, I don't think we have to worry about that with these three," he added, smirking.

"I want to become a magical animal," Susan decided, happily.

"Me too," Neville and Harry echoed.

HP

During the following week, the three soon-to-be students took turns using the libraries at Slytherin Manor, Gryffindor Manor and Hogwarts to check out all kinds of magical and non-magical animals in an attempt of making a decision concerning the animals they wanted to become.

"This is really difficult," Harry groaned one evening after inefficiently searching the libraries for something that he really found interesting.

"It's not," Salazar contradicted from the painting. "I know the perfect form for all three of you."

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and your expectations for this story. Any opinions or ideas are very welcome._


	17. This and that and the Hogwarts Express

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

"Do you know what the magical equivalent of a chameleon is?" Salazar enquired, giving Harry a sharp look.

"No sir," Harry replied in confusion, causing the ancient wizard to scoff.

"Ask Severus about the specifics of his Animagus form. He's a non-magical chameleon, isn't he?"

"Yes," Harry replied, looking at his great grandfather, questioningly.

"A chameleon can change its exterior to any colour it wishes to take," Severus supplied, smirking.

"The magical equivalent of a chameleon is a chameguise," Salazar informed them. Seeing that everyone including the adults cast him questioning looks, he explained, "Now, it might be extinct in this time; that I don't know; however, a chameguise is able to not only change its colour but to transform into any other animal at free will."

A collective "What?" followed, before Harry, Susan and Neville stated, simultaneously, "I want to become a chameguise."

Feel free to take one small piece of fur each," Severus uttered, smirking, before he transformed into his chameleon form.

"Careful now," Susan instructed the boys. "Let me do it." She cautiously took three small hairs from the chameleon's back with a well-placed spell, before nodding to the Animagus in gratitude. "Thank you so much, Professor. We appreciate this very much."

"You're lucky that I already made the Crystals of Atlantis for you," James spoke up, placing three small crystals in the form of pyramids onto the table. "Each of them needs three drops of your blood."

The children observed in excitement how James added their blood to the crystals, recovering the so-called Tears of Atlantis in three small phials.

The three children eagerly added the fur of the chameleon together with the Tears of Atlantis into the Animagus potion and followed Severus' instruction to very slowly shake the phial for the liquids to mix with each other.

Five minutes later, three chameguises were roaming the Parlour.

=This is so cool,= Susan said to the others, stretching her limbs.

"Try if you can transform into dogs," Sirius invited, before he changed into Padfoot.

=How are we supposed to change?= Neville enquired.

=Maybe just think of a dog form?= Harry guessed, before he inefficiently tried to transform into an equivalent to Padfoot.

"You didn't think it was so easy now, did you?" Salazar sneered. "It affords much practise, but eventually you'll succeed." Seeing that everyone was hanging on his lips, he swiftly transformed into his own chameguise Animagus form and further into a magical snake with a pattern of a miniature Hogwarts crest all over his sole limb.

 _'Totally cool,'_ Harry thought, resolving to practise as much as possible.

"This is too amazing to be true," Lily said, as she observed the three chameguises play together in amazement.

"You shouldn't tell anyone about your ability though," Amelia spoke up, once the children returned back to their human form.

"Don't let anyone know that you're Animagi at all," Minerva added in a strict voice.

"No one would believe you anyway, but in case it comes out for some reason, let them believe you were just chameleons like Severus," James instructed them.

Now that you know what your animal is, you just have to practise transforming until you can just do it without even thinking about it," Sirius instructed them.

"Yes," the children chorused, while the younger trio began to beg the adults to have them become Animagi, too.

"You'll have to wait until the summer before you go to Hogwarts," James decided in a firm voice. "There's something else that we urgently need to do for the older trio." Seeing that everyone looked at him in clear expectation, he let out a long sigh. "We need to make wands for you."

"Oh right," Harry blurted out in surprise.

"We completely forgot about that," Susan added.

Neville looked equally flabbergasted and asked, "How are you going to make them?"

"It's up to you to choose the ingredients," James explained. "You could simply go to the wandmaker and choose a wand; however, using some ingredients from Hogwarts will make your wand much more powerful. I'd suggest, for example, using some part of a branch of the Weeping Willow, then in addition some lichens from Hogwarts' roof as well as a drop of blood from Harry as the descendant of all four founders of Hogwarts. It's your own decision though if you want that or if you prefer other ingredients."

"Rubbish!" Salazar bellowed. "Instead of the Weeping Willow, use basilisk skin. Your wands will be much more powerful."

"That's true," Lily agreed, nodding. "Amaterasu will surely shed some skin for us if you need fresh skin."

"The fresher the better," Salazar confirmed.

"I want that," Susan blurted out. "Is that all right with you Harry? I mean, will you give some blood for my wand?"

"Of course," Harry replied, smiling. "I'd be honoured.

"I'd like the same," Neville added, "if that's all right with you."

"Of course," Harry repeated, looking at his father in excitement. "Dad, what do we have to do?"

James smirked. "Let's go and get some basilisk skin first. Harry, will you be able to ask Amaterasu, or do we need to take Mum with us?"

"It's all right. I'll ask her," Harry reassured his father, having spoken with Amaterasu often enough to feel comfortable asking her.

"I can help them pick the lichens," Severus offered. "My herb garden has lots of them."

HP

During the following hour, James, Severus and three very much excited elven-year-olds picked up a small amount of fresh basilisk skin as well as some lichens from the Potions Master's herb garden on the roof of the castle.

The children marvelled at the view from the top of the roof. One could see several small villages, Hogsmeade being the largest of them, as well as a beautiful scenery of forest, divided by several small rivers.

"The view from here is absolutely amazing," Susan breathed.

Harry and Neville nodded, fiercely. "Totally cool," the boys agreed, simultaneously.

If the children had believed that it would be equally fast for James to make the wands for them, they were sorely disappointed. There were several stages in the making of a wand, and it took a whole week before the three brother-wands were ready.

"As soon as you have your wands, we're going to practise using them," Remus announced, causing the kids to nod their agreement.

"Thank you for teaching us, Uncle Moony," Susan spoke for the three of them. "In the meantime, we can concentrate on the question, in which house we want Sopho to sort us," she continued, letting out a deep sigh.

"Slytherin," Harry voiced his opinion.

"Hufflepuff," Neville disagreed.

"But Ravenclaw would fit all of us," Susan insisted. "And Aunty Alice is going to become the head of Ravenclaw in three years' time, aren't you?"

Alice nodded, smiling, however, refrained from interrupting the older trio's discussion.

"But Severus is the head of Slytherin until Mum will become the head in a few years' time," Harry added.

"You know, you don't have to be in the same house," Severus told the children. "You can be in different houses and still meet outside of class to study together."

"No, we want to be in the same house," Susan said in determination. "We just can't decide which one."

"You can always study in the founders' quarters," Lily voiced her opinion, knowing that the children knew the founders' quarters well enough to feel comfortable there.

"Maybe we'll do that anyway," Harry said, thoughtfully, before a sudden idea crossed his mind. "If we meet some really nice people, may we take them with us to the founders' quarters?" he enquired.

"Only if you know them really well and want them to access the rooms together with you," Lily informed them. "You'll just have to speak with one of the founders in the portrait that is guarding the rooms."

The children nodded in understanding; however, during the remaining two weeks of the holidays, they did not manage to agree on a house, in which they wanted to be sorted.

"Just leave it to Sopho," Harry finally decided. "The main point is that he sorts us together."

"I'll tell him," Susan agreed, "as I'm probably going to be sorted first.

 _'If she speaks with Sopho, I'm sure that we'll end up in Ravenclaw,'_ Harry thought, inwardly sighing. _'I guess there's nothing that we can do about it though.'_

HP

During the remaining days before the beginning of the school year, the older trio eagerly practised transforming into their chameguise forms as well as performing magic with their wands. In the morning of the first of September, they felt contented with their progress.

In a two-minute discussion, the children decided to board the Hogwarts Express instead of just skipping the travel and joining everyone at the station in Hogsmeade. Amelia, Lily and Alice side along apparated the trio to platform nine and three quarters, where they arrived an hour before the departure of the train.

"Let's go and look for a compartment," Susan suggested, and the children swiftly said good-bye to the adults, knowing that they would be able to see their extended family whenever they wanted.

They settled down in an empty compartment, wondering if other first-years were going to join them soon. They did not have to wait long, before a girl with bushy brown hair hesitantly opened the door.

"Excuse me, may I sit here? I'm a new first-year," the girl introduced herself, only to add, "Sorry, my name is Hermione Granger."

"Of course Hermione, come in," Susan replied, gently, and introduced herself and the two boys to the girl.

They talked animatedly, and before they knew how quickly the time passed, it was time for the departure of the train.

 _'Thank Merlin it's only the three of us and Hermione. She seems to be all right,_ ' Harry thought, when the train slowly began to move.

However, all of a sudden, a red-haired boy stormed into the compartment without even knocking, breathing heavily.

"Thank Merlin we got onto the train," he breathed, flinging his bag onto the empty seat next to him, without doing as much as introducing himself. "Mum was told by Dumbledore to wait on the muggle side and show Harry Potter how to get onto the platform, however, we waited for full ten minutes, and the prick didn't show up. That's why we almost missed the train."

"Excuse me," Harry spoke up with bewilderment. "I've been here on the train for almost an hour, and why would Dumbledore ask your mother to do such a thing? I don't understand."

' _Dumbledore knew that I grew up in the magical world,'_ he thought in confusion. _'He was supposed to believe that Aunt Alice raised me together with Neville. Why would anyone else have to show me how to get onto the platform? Maybe he's really slowly losing it like Godric said the other day._ '

The boy stared at him in apparent disbelief. "You're Harry Potter?" he asked in obvious excitement. "Do you really have the scar?"

"I don't have a scar," Harry said, brusquely, feeling extremely annoyed by the other boy's behaviour.

"If you just came here to harass Harry, please feel free to look for another compartment," Susan spoke up in a no-nonsense voice that made the boy stare at her in apparent shock.

"No, I don't," he said, quickly. "I want to be friends with him."

"And why would that be?" Susan enquired. "Because your mother said so?"

The boy nodded, before he seemed to get a grip on himself and replied, "No, of course not. But I'm a first year as well…"

"We're all first-years," Susan informed him in a cold voice. "You must be a Weasley. I know for a fact that your mother is as meddling as Dumbledore. The two of them set up a betrothing contract for your sister and Harry, when they both were just babies. Fortunately, neither of them was his guardian, so it never became valid."

"It's not valid?" the boy asked in apparent surprise. "I think it is, at least that's what my mum told me last week."

"You know," Harry spoke up in anger, "I don't want anything to do with you let alone your sister. Will you please leave and look for another compartment to sit?"

To his disappointment, the redhead did not follow his advice but remained where he was. However, he kept quiet for most of the journey, while the trio talked with Hermione about this and that. The girl was very eager to get to know everything about the magical world, and the trio was happy to answer all of her questions as well as they could.

"Why do you know so much about the magical world?" the girl suddenly turned to Harry. "You're said to have been grown up with your muggle relatives."

"No." Harry shook his head. "They killed each other when I was about two, and ever after that I grew up with our extended family that includes my godparents as well as Susan, Neville and our three younger siblings," he explained, smiling.

"What?" the red headed boy, who had remained quiet so far, blurted out. "My mother begged Dumbledore to be allowed to take you in, but he insisted that you had to live with your relatives."

"Thank Merlin," Harry mumbled, only to be heard by Neville, who was sitting between him and the Weasley boy.

During the train travel, several people came by to say hello, and at one stage, three boys showed up in their compartment together. One of them Harry knew to be Draco Malfoy, even if he had not met him before. He had, however, heard a lot about the boy's father from Regulus and Sirius and had long ago decided to make the boy rather a friend than an enemy.

"What do you want?" the Weasley boy, who still had to introduce himself, hissed. "Slimy Slytherins are not welcome here."

"Let's see; red hair and hand-me-down robes; you must be a Weasley," the boy sneered, before turning to the others. "Is the news true? I heard that Harry Potter was sitting in this compartment," he stated, giving Harry a questioning look.

"I am Harry Potter," Harry replied and rose from his seat to shake the offered hand. "Nice to meet you, Scion Malfoy. "These are Susan Bones and Neville Longbottom. Both belong to my extended family. And this is Hermione Granger, our friend and fellow first-year."

Malfoy quirked an eyebrow, however, refrained from commenting. He merely said, "I'll see you all then at Hogwarts."

Glancing at her wrist watch, Hermione spoke up. "Shouldn't we arrive soon?"

"Yeah, I guess we should change into our school clothes," Draco agreed and swiftly left the compartment with the two fat boys trailing after him.

 _'We need to learn telepathy,_ ' Harry thought. _'That's one useful thing, which the adults didn't think of teaching us.'_

Once they left the train at Hogsmeade station, Harry recognised Hagrid, the half-giant, to whom Severus had introduced him one day. He was equipped with a lantern and ushered the first-years towards a group of small boats. To his relief, the trio managed to get a boat together with Hermione, and they thoroughly enjoyed the short ride across the lake, especially the beautiful view onto the illuminated castle.

 _'On the one hand, I'm happy to finally be a student here, but on the other hand, I'm going to miss the family,'_ Harry thought, as he stepped into the castle together with the others, _'even if we'll be able to see them every now and then. It's still different. Even Granny Minerva is not our granny, while we're here,_ ' he mused, upon seeing the strict professor standing in front of the first-years. _'I must be careful to not get onto her bad side,'_ he resolved.

When they entered the Great Hall, Harry looked around in amazement. As often as he had been inside the castle, he had never ever set a foot into the Great Hall before. It was absolutely gorgeous.

"The ceiling is made to look like the sky," he heard Hermione say. "It's the invention of Rowena Ravenclaw, one of the founders of Hogwarts."

"Have you met her?" Harry whispered to the girl, who turned to him with a glare. "She lived one thousand years ago. How am I supposed to meet her?"

Suppressing a chuckle, Harry was grateful, when Susan replied in his place. "We'll introduce you to her at the next opportunity. You know that you can speak to portraits, don't you?"

Hermione answered by releasing a bunch of questions, however, to Harry's relief, interrupted herself, when the deputy headmistress began to call names from her list.

Hannah Abbot was swiftly sorted into Hufflepuff, before Susan was called to the Hat.

It took much longer than the Sorting of the girl before her, and all over the Great Hall, the students already began to whisper, when the Hat finally spoke aloud.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and your expectations for this story. Any opinions or ideas are very welcome._


	18. The Sorting and more family

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

"Ravenclaw," the Hat shouted into the Great Hall.

 _'Of course,'_ Harry thought, rolling his eyes at his sister, who chose to cheerily stride towards her chosen house table.

None of the other students took so much time to sort, and Harry smiled, when Hermione was sorted into Ravenclaw as well. He let out a relieved sigh, when Neville also joined the Ravenclaws. Politely clapping his hands, when Draco Malfoy was sent to Slytherin, he decided to try friending the boy in spite of their house affinities. ' _As I'm the heir of all four of the founders, I need to make friends in every house anyway,'_ he thought, looking up, startled, when Minerva called his name. _'Thank Merlin Mum charmed my name in the book of magical children to only display Harry Potter instead of Harry Potter-Slytherin-Gryffindor,'_ he thought, as he sat on the stool and greeted Sopho.

'Hi Harry,' the Hat replied right into his mind.

'Thanks Sopho for sorting us together,' Harry replied, before a sudden idea crossed his mind. Chuckling, he thought, 'Would you help me play a small prank on another first-year?'

'Of course,' Sopho replied in obvious amusement. 'What do you want me to do?'

'Could you please sort the Weasley boy into Slytherin?' Harry asked.

'All right, if that's what you want,' the Hat agreed. 'Is there anything else, or can we finish this conversation for the time being? I'll need to sort some more first-years, before the headmaster becomes impatient.'

'All right, Sopho. Again, thanks a lot, and I'll talk to you soon,' Harry replied, smiling.

"Ravenclaw," Sopho shouted into the Great Hall, which remained strangely quiet, before a ruckus broke out at the Ravenclaw table.

"We've got Potter!" someone shouted, before the Ravenclaws eagerly began to clap their hands, finally followed by the teachers and the students surrounding the other house tables. Only the Gryffindor table remained quiet in apparent disappointment.

A few minutes later, Ronald Weasley sat on the stool, and Harry had to try hard to not chuckle in anticipation, when Minerva placed Sopho onto the boy's head.

During the train travel, the boy had not said much, but he had insisted that Gryffindor was the only wonderful house, and that his whole family had been Gryffindors over generations.

"Slytherin!" the Hat shouted into the hall, causing Ronald to protest.

"No, you're wrong. All Weasleys are Gryffindors," he yelled, his face getting red with anger.

"Mr. Weasley, you've been sorted. Now please take a seat at your house table," Minerva said in a strict but calm voice, already proceeding to call the last boy from her list. "Zabini, Blaise."

Harry observed with amusement how Ronald sat between what – judging by the colour of their hair – seemed to be his brothers at the Gryffindor table. ' _Ah, they must be the twins about whom Minerva told us,'_ he thought, eagerly watching what was going to happen to the younger Weasley.

He should not have to wait long. Minerva brought the Hat and the stool out of the Great Hall and, on her way back, strode along the Gryffindor table addressing Ronald Weasley.

"Ronald Weasley, go and sit at your house table. 10 points from Slytherin for your behaviour," she said in a crisp voice, before she made her way to the head table.

"No," Ronald refused, causing his twin brothers to pull him up from his seat by his arms and drag him through the Great Hall towards the Slytherin table, where they made him sit in the spot, where Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini quickly made room between them. Afterwards, the twins returned to their house table in a funny march.

"Thank you, Messrs. Weasley," Dumbledore spoke up, as he rose from his chair to greet the students.

HP

Ronald Weasley's and Harry Potter's Sorting was also the main topic of a small staff meeting between the headmaster and the heads of the four houses after the welcoming feast.

"Sopho, can you tell us why you sorted Harry Potter into Ravenclaw and Ronald Weasley into Slytherin?" Albus asked the Hat, who merely fluffed his brim.

"Because that's where they belong," he finally replied in a bored voice, feigning a light snore when the headmaster insisted on getting a more qualified response.

"Minerva," a voice suddenly spoke up from the portrait of Godric Gryffindor.

"Professor Slytherin," she replied in surprise at seeing Salazar in Godric's portrait.

"In hindsight of the Sorting, will you please pair my Slytherins with the Ravenclaws from this year onwards?"

Minerva stared at the founder in surprise. "All right, Professor, I'll do so," she then promised, feeling extremely astonished, as the founders had never ever demanded to influence such decisions.

"No," Albus contradicted. "Professor Slytherin, we're having the pairings for a reason, and we can't simply…"

"You can and you will," Godric interrupted the headmaster. "Sopho," he directly addressed the Hat. "Please fetch Harry here."

"Harry?" Albus asked in apparent confusion, his voice laced with anger.

"He's Rowena's and my heir and as such the owner of Hogwarts," Godric informed the headmaster in a cold voice. "He can overwrite your decisions in a whim."

The headmaster stared at his ancient predecessor in clear shock, before he said, "Sopho, there's no need to fetch any student now. Very well, we'll then pair the Ravenclaws with the Slytherins and the Gryffindors with the Hufflepuffs. Professor Gryffindor, does this have a specific reason?"

"We, the four founders, have decided to give it a try after watching the quarrels between the houses for several decades," Godric replied in a firm voice. "Frankly speaking, we're sick of the house rivalry in your time. I'm certain that Harry as our heir will be able to unite the school."

 _'I wonder what Albus' problem with Harry is,'_ Minerva thought. _'He was so obsessed with him having to stay with the Dursleys, and after they killed themselves, he didn't even check on the child let alone enquire about him. I wonder how he'll react upon realising what Harry is already able to do.'_

HP

To Harry's surprise, there were no dormitories in Ravenclaw like the Marauders had told them from their experiences in Gryffindor. All students were accommodated in small rooms together with only one other student. To his relief, his room-mate was Neville, while Susan shared her bedroom with Hermione.

 _'I'm sure these pairings were Hogwarts' doing,'_ he thought, gratefully. ' _It's too good to be just by chance.'_

"Thanks Hogwarts," he mumbled, placing his hand on the nearest wall.

"You're welcome," the castle replied in her gentle voice, only for Harry to hear.

 _'This is totally cool,'_ he thought, happily. He had often witnessed or even taken part in conversations of his parents with Hogwarts in the Parlour of the founders' quarters and knew that he would be able to communicate with the castle by placing his hand against the wall in every other part of the school, however, it had been the first time that he had really tried it out.

HP

At breakfast the following morning, Professor Flitwick handed out the time-tables, and the trio saw that they had Transfiguration together with the Slytherins in their first morning class. Realising that they knew much more about Hogwarts and probably were the only ones aware of where the Transfiguration classroom was, they decided to gather the Slytherins and lead the whole class to their classroom together.

"Neville, will you take our housemates to the classroom; Susan and I are going to fetch the Slytherins," Harry whispered to his brother, who nodded his head, smiling.

As soon as breakfast was over, Harry and Susan approached the Slytherin table. "We have Transfiguration together. Will you come with us?" he addressed Draco, who nodded, eagerly.

"Do you know where the classroom is?" the boy asked, giving Harry a surprised look.

"Yes, come on, first-years," Susan replied, seeming impatient.

A moment later, the Slytherin first-years closely followed their Ravenclaw classmates out of the Great Hall – much to the teachers' surprise.

By the time they reached the classroom, where each of the trio chose to take a seat next to a Slytherin, making Hermione do the same, Harry realised that the professor was already there – sitting on her desk in her feline form.

 _'It would be nice if I could just transform and sit next to her,_ ' he thought, however, knew that no one could know that he was an Animagus yet, let alone about his form.

Only ten minutes later, Ronald Weasley stepped into the classroom.

Minerva, who had so far observed the students' interactions, chose that instant to transform into her human form. "Mr. Weasley, you're late."

"I didn't know where the classroom was," Ronald replied, stroppily.

"Well, strange then that your classmates all found their way here together," the teacher replied. "Now take a seat, so that we can begin, before I have to take points from Slytherin."

"He's absolute stupid," Draco whispered to Harry. "He was sitting just by himself at the other end of the Slytherin table. That's why he missed us."

"I'm just glad that he's not in my house," Harry replied, chuckling.

"Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter, is there a problem?" the professor suddenly enquired, causing the two boys to stare at her in surprise.

 _'She must have really good ears,'_ Harry thought, knowing that neither he nor Draco had spoken very loudly. "No Professor, sorry," he replied, quickly, before he turned his attention to the task ahead.

HP

The second morning class was one of the – during the school year rare – times that Lily and Severus were in the apothecary together. Severus only had an NEWT class in the afternoon, and Lily was having a free period, before she had to teach the Ravenclaw and Slytherin first-years during the last morning class.

Together, they stared at the figure who dragged herself into the apothecary only to collapse right on the spot in disbelief.

"Who might that be? She looks like Marlene," Lily whispered in shock.

"Exactly," Severus agreed, as they both hurried over to the prone figure of their former classmate. "But she's dead."

"As am I," Lily whispered back without even considering the matter. "Marlene?" she hesitantly addressed the woman, only to notice that she was unconscious.

"I'll call Poppy," Severus decided in determination. "She'll be able to check if her magical signature is that of Marlene and what's wrong with her."

Lily merely nodded, unable to take her eyes from the woman. Marlene and her whole family had been killed just a few days before Harry's first birthday, and it had been a huge shock for her, as Marlene had been one of her good friends.

 _'If it's really her, then why did it take her ten years to show herself?'_ she wondered, only to recall that she was also thought dead by several people including the headmaster of Hogwarts and head of the Wizengamot.

"She definitely is Marlene McKinnon," Poppy informed them, as she let her wand sink. "She seems to have collapsed from magical exhaustion. I'm going to enervate her."

"Maybe we should take her into the side-room to have some privacy," Lily decided, causing Severus to gently pick the woman up into his arms and carry her to the small, private room in the back of the apothecary. Lily followed swiftly, toying with the idea of pulling off her ring. However, knowing that Poppy was still unaware of her identity, she hesitated.

Enervated by Poppy's spell, Marlene opened her eyes and hurriedly looked around, only to let out a deep sigh. "Thank Merlin, Poppy? Severus? Is that really you?" she blurted out, her eyes lingering on Lily.

"Marlene, is that really you?" Lily could not prevent herself from asking, making the woman give her a questioning look.

Glancing at Poppy who was busying herself checking on the young witch, Lily quickly took her ring off, causing Marlene to gasp, before she swiftly pulled the ring on again. "I'm Elisabeth Slytherin," she introduced herself.

Marlene nodded in what seemed to be a combination of apparent understanding and confusion.

"We thought you were dead," Lily stated, questioningly.

"I'm not sure what happened," Marlene replied, seemingly pensive. "If I remember correctly, Death Eaters attacked my family and me, but then, just a few days ago, I woke up in a muggle hospital in Germany. I'm not sure how I ended up there, but I think that Roy must have taken me there, you know my old house-elf. Since he didn't show up when I called him yesterday, I suppose that he's dead by now. Anyway, they released me yesterday morning, and ever since then I apparated a couple of times to come here. It was quite a distance. I was going to go to Hogwarts to see the headmaster and ask about the situation in Britain and who of my family or friends were alive. But I was too weak to walk all the way up to the castle, so I entered the apothecary to ask for some Pepperup potion…" She slowly trailed off.

"You can't imagine how happy we are to see you alive and well, oh well, considering the circumstances," Lily said, tears of happiness leaking from her eyes.

"Believe me, I'm so glad to see you, too. Ever since I woke up, everything was just a shock," Marlene admitted. "I didn't even have my wand to cast the spell that would make me understand German. Thank Merlin they released me fairly quickly considering that I was in a come for about ten years," she added, chuckling.

Turning to the healer, she said, warmly, "Thank you so much for the potions, Poppy and Severus. That's much better now."

"You're welcome dear," Poppy replied, smiling. "We're all glad to have you back. Do you have anywhere to go?"

"We'll take her with us to our family home," Lily replied in a firm voice. Glancing at her wrist watch, she noticed that she had just enough time to take Marlene to Gryffindor Manor and leave her with Alice and Remus, before she had to make her way to the Potions classroom to teach the Ravenclaw and Slytherin first-years.

HP

After their Potions class, the trio remained to speak with Lily for a moment, trusting their classmates to find their way back to the Great Hall for lunch on their own. Noticing that Hermione was waiting for them at the door, Susan waved her over and introduced her to the professor as their new friend.

"Our family has a new member," Lily informed the children and told them about her good friend Marlene, who had been saved by a house-elf right out of a battle and had spent ten years in a coma. "We've invited her to the manor, where she's going to stay with us for the time being."

"Oh Mum, can we come over tonight?" Susan asked, eagerly.

"We could make connecting doors from our rooms to the founders' quarters and just step through," Harry said, thoughtfully, causing Susan and Neville to eagerly nod, while Hermione observed them, wide-eyed.

"Do you know how to make a connecting door?" Lily enquired.

"Sure," Harry confirmed, smiling, "and I'm sure that Hogwarts will help us."

"Do I want to know what that was all about?" Hermione enquired, when the four first-years made their way to the Great Hall for lunch.

"We'll tell you everything after our last afternoon class, won't we boys?" Susan promised.

Harry and Neville nodded. "Sure."

HP

After Charms, which was the trio's last afternoon class, the children led Hermione to the founders' quarters.

"This is Hermione Granger, our new friend," Harry introduced the girl to the founders in the portrait that was guarding the entrance door. "Will you please let her in?"

Rowena looked at the eager first-year. "We will allow you entrance to the founders' quarters, however, you must not speak about our rooms to anyone apart from these three. Can you promise me that?"

"You are Rowena Ravenclaw!" Hermione blurted out, before she got a grip on herself and replied, "Sorry, Professor, and yes, I promise. I was just too excited realising that I was able to speak with you."

"That's fine," Rowena replied, smiling. "You'll still be able to communicate with us inside."

Entering the founders' quarters, the children introduced the founders in the painting to a delighted Hermione, rolling their eyes in amusement at the girl's excitement, when she began to ask a myriad of questions.

At the same time, Harry quickly conversed with Hogwarts, who gladly made two connecting doors from the Parlour to each of the children's rooms.

"Sorry Hogwarts, are the doors in our rooms invisible to everyone else?" Harry enquired just to be sure.

"Of course dear," the castle replied, gently.

"Now shall we go home?" Susan asked, impatiently. "I want to get to know Marlene."

"It's too early," Harry contradicted. "Mum, Amelia, Severus, Frank and Sirius won't be home yet."

"That's true," Neville agreed. "We better go after dinner. It's almost dinner time anyway."

"What do we do with Hermione?" Harry enquired. "Will she be able to swear a wizard's oath to keep our family's secrets?"

"That would be a witch's oath," Susan corrected him, smiling. Turning to Hermione, she enquired, "Hermione, do you know what a witch's oath is?"

Her new friend stared at her in surprise. "No," she admitted, sighing. "I'm sorry, I really don't know much about the magical world yet."

"Do you wish to change that?" Salazar sneered from the painting.

"Don't mind my husband; he's very moody," Helga reassured the girl, who nodded, gratefully.

"Yes sir, I'd love to learn as much as possible," she confirmed.

"Let's go then," Helga continued and taught the muggleborn how to swear a witch's oath.

A few minutes later, the trio told Hermione every secret of their enlarged family and invited her to step through the connecting door to Gryffindor Manor.

"Oh, that's too cool," Hermione blurted out, once the door became visible in front of her eyes. "Thank you so much for including me in this."

"You're welcome," the trio replied in a chorus. "We need to go to the Great Hall for dinner, before we can go home though."

"Hermione," Harry continued in a stricter voice, "You know that you can't tell anyone, not only about these rooms and our family's secrets, but also that we're able to go home. Professors McGonagall and Snape know, but it must remain a secret to everyone else, especially the headmaster."

"I understand," Hermione reassured him, smiling.

HP

Seeing the trio enter the Great Hall together with a muggleborn first-year, who took the seat between Susan and Harry looking outright happy, Minerva leaned over to Lily.

"Our new first-years are really special," she said in a small voice.

"That they are," Filius spoke up from her other side. "I've never seen a class sit in such a mixed-up way like these did in my Charms class today."

"Exactly," Lily confirmed. "There seems to be no house rivalry, at least not between Ravenclaw and Slytherin."

"I'm sure that's the trio's doing," Minerva replied, smiling. "I had them in the first morning class. They were the first to take seats next to the Slytherins, and everyone else seems to have followed their example."

She interrupted herself, when an old barn owl swept into the Great Hall carrying a red envelope.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter._

 _Work begins again tomorrow, so I don't know if I'll be able to keep up with the fast updates. Kind reviews always help my muse though, and I can promise you to at least update once a week. Have a good week :)_


	19. Midnight duel

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

Almost everyone present in the Great Hall observed how the owl crashed onto the Slytherin table right in front of Ronald Weasley, spreading food in every possible direction.

A moment later, Molly Weasley's voice filled the Great Hall with screams.

 _"Ronald Bilius Weasley, you traitorous son! How dare you betray us and let yourself be sorted into the house of snakes! You good for nothing waste of space! I am so ashamed! We'll talk about this when you get home. At least be careful to be a good friend to Harry, who I'm sure is a proper Gryffindor!"_

 _'What?'_ Minerva thought, incredulously. ' _Why would Ronald need to befriend Harry?'_ Looking at her surrogate grandson and his siblings, she noticed that the trio seemed to be very aggravated.

HP

"I can't believe it," Harry complained, feeling extremely upset. "First she drags Slytherin through the mud and then she demands that he befriends me? Why in the world would I want to be friends with that idiot?" He stared at his mother, who was merely shaking her head in apparent annoyance.

"I think I'm going to write to Mr. Weasley as the head of House Weasley and ask him to properly educate his wife," he added, angrily.

"Do that," Neville reassured him, nodding in agreement.

"We can write that letter together later on," Susan added, giving him a comforting smile.

Hermione merely shook her head, trying to understand what Harry intended to achieve.

"Let's leave," Harry whispered to his siblings, motioning for Hermione to come with them. "We can have dinner at home," he said to the others, once they closed the door to the Great Hall behind themselves.

"Harry, is it really all right if I go with you?" Hermione enquired, causing him to smile.

"Of course. We told you already," he replied and ushered the small group out onto the grounds.

"I just hope Professor Flitwick isn't going to look for us," Susan spoke up, as they strode towards the Forbidden Forest. "Apart from Professor Sprout, he's the only one of the heads of the houses who wouldn't know where to find us."

Harry shrugged. "Minerva, Severus and Mum know, and I think either of them would warn us if he were looking for us," he said, dismissing the thought.

They were just about to reach the gate leading to Gryffindor Manor, when Hagrid was suddenly standing in front of them, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. _'Where did he come from?'_ Harry thought, horrified.

"Where d'you think ye're goin'? The fores' isn't fe students," he bellowed and instructed them to come with him and return to the castle right away.

Sighing, the quartet of first-years followed the half-giant back into the school, inwardly groaning, as they took the detour through the founders' quarters.

HP

"I feel really sorry for Marlene," Hermione spoke up, when the first-years walked back from the founders' quarters to Ravenclaw right on time for curfew, "having missed ten years of her life by being in a coma."

"She can be glad that her house-elf took her away and she's alive at all," Harry replied, sighing. "She's really nice, and the adults seem to be truly happy having her back."

"I think Severus is especially fond of her," Susan added, grinning.

"Where have you been?" a fifth-year prefect asked, when the quartet stepped into the Ravenclaw common room.

"We used an empty classroom to study together," Harry lied, thinking, _'From tomorrow onwards, we probably won't have time to just play with the little ones at home. We need to take our homework with us and study, even if we go home in the evenings. Oh no, I completely forgot to write the letter to Mr. Weasley.'_

"We'll do that first thing in the morning," Susan decided, when Harry voiced his thought. "Let's meet in the quarters half an hour before breakfast."

HP

Grateful for the connecting doors to the founders' quarters, the quartet met early the next morning and worked on the letter.

 _'Dear Mr. Weasley,  
we have not met in person, but I assume that you know my name. I am Harry Potter, the scion of the noble and ancient House Potter. From your son Ronald, I heard that your wife was supposedly waiting for me on the muggle platform, making it my fault that your children almost missed the train. He also informed me that your wife together with Albus Dumbledore set up a betrothal contract between your daughter and myself, when we were still babies. Fortunately, neither of them is my guardian, so that I suppose it is not valid. And lastly, she wrote your son a Howler, first pulling the Slytherin house into the mud and then demanding that your son befriend me for whatever reason.  
I am writing to you, because I trust that as the head of the Weasley family, you will be able to teach your wife and your youngest son proper behaviour towards the other noble and ancient houses and their scions. As far as my guardians have told me, there has been a good relationship between House Weasley and House Potter in the past, which I would like to maintain if possible.  
Yours sincerely  
Harry Potter'_

"We really need to more thoroughly practise the Animagus transformation," Harry said, sighing, as he folded the parchment. "It would be so fast and easy to just take the letter to him as a phoenix."

"The Animagus transformation?" Hermione asked in apparent bewilderment. "But that's supposed to be very advanced magic, and not everyone is able to become an Animagus. There are only about two hundred registered Animagi in the whole twentieth century so far."

"Yeah, we know, but we still want to practise," Harry replied, quickly dismissing the topic. _'I really must be careful what I say in Hermione's presence,'_ he thought, as he followed the others to the owlery, not caring that they would be a few minutes late for breakfast.

HP

Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his office reflecting the first week of the new school year.

 _'The lack of house rivalry between the Slytherins and the Ravenclaws is surprising,_ ' he thought. _'I wonder how it would turn out if we changed the pairing back to Slytherin – Gryffindor for just a few classes. At least from Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter I'd have expected differently. Oh well, Harry was supposed to be a Gryffindor anyway.'_ He let out a deep sigh.

#You should make study rooms for the nestlings, where they could all spend some time together,# Fawkes interrupted his musings.

"I believe that this is a very good idea," Godric spoke up, agreeing with his former familiar.

"I'll discuss it with my colleagues," Albus promised, just when four of his colleagues came to visit him.

"Minerva, Pomona, Poppy and Severus, what can I do for you?" he asked, pleasantly, offering each of them a lemon drop.

While his female colleagues chose to accept a sweet, Severus took a seat and began to speak. "Three of our first-years are very much advanced in most subjects. Therefore, we've pondered what to do, so that they won't become too bored."

"This is about the three children, who have already been assisting Pomona, Severus and Poppy during the last three years," Minerva added. "Therefore, the three of them would like to hire the children as student assistants. This position of a student assistant hasn't been used for at least one hundred years; however, we believe that it's a good timing to re-introduce it now."

"Who are these students?" Albus enquired, not really liking that a decision seemed to have been made without his input.

"Susan Bones, Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter," Minerva supplied in a firm voice. "They have been brought up together, and if I'm not mistaken, each of them would be ready to take their OWLs at least in the core subjects right away."

"Harry Potter?" Albus enquired, frowning. He did not like this one bit. _'It should have been me to introduce the boy to the magical world,'_ he thought, feeling extremely angry about the whole situation. _'No one should get too close to him anyway, considering that he has to die in order for the Horcrux in his head to die.'_

"I don't mind," he finally said, having the impression as if the leadership of the school was slipping out of his hands. "Please ask the students if they want payment or privileges for their work."

HP

Needless to say, the three children chose privileges, as it allowed them a later curfew.

"I imagined as much," Minerva said, smiling, when she spoke to the trio on Saturday evening at home.

"While it's sad that we might not be able to return home during the week if we have to assist the whole evening, we can still spend much of the weekends here," Harry spoke up. "Another plus of the privileges is that it gives us some time together but without Hermione," he added, once Hermione had returned to Ravenclaw, while they were relaxing in the Parlour of Gryffindor Manor with their extended family. "Don't misunderstand me, I really like her, but we need some time for ourselves, for example to practise transforming into small black dogs."

"Yes, those are the best, even if not small," Sirius spoke up and transformed on the spot, only to find himself being chased by three chameguises a moment later.

=Transform into doggies,= he instructed the chameleons, knowing from earlier transformations that they were able to understand him, even if he could not comprehend their chameguise babbling.

Harry tried over and over and was just about to give up, when he felt his body transform into a smaller version of his godfather's Animagus form. Just a short while later, four dogs were roaming the Parlour.

"Well done," they heard Lily and Minerva commend them, while James and Severus were filling Marlene in about their Animagus form.

 _'If we were cats, we could even roam Hogwarts in our Animagus forms,'_ Harry thought and tried to change into a cat. However, it did not work. ' _Perhaps I need to go back to my chameguise form first,'_ he realised and swiftly transformed back, before he changed into a completely black cat.

"Oh, how cute," Alice was the first to notice him.

Minerva nodded in clear amazement. "He looks smashing with his green eyes looking out from black fur," she agreed.

A few minutes later, a marmalade cat replaced Susan's dog form, just before Neville transformed into a white-grey cat.

"Well done," Remus commended them, while Minerva transformed into her tabby cat form, and Padfoot began to chase the four felines.

"That was much fun," Susan said, happily, when the trio walked from the founders' quarters to the Ravenclaw common room. While it would have been much nearer and faster to just enter their rooms through the connecting door, their housemates would have wondered where they had come from.

HP

One day during the following week, Draco kept Harry back after class. "Be aware, Weasley might challenge you to a wizard's duel," he informed him. "He complained so much about everything being your fault…"

"What exactly is my fault?" Harry interrupted him with bewilderment.

Draco shrugged. "Everything. That he's in Slytherin…"

"How?" Harry asked, incredulously.

"I don't know. That his father admonished him to behave, and whatever. Anyway, I challenged him to a wizard's duel, and he refused. Told me that he'd challenge you. Just so you know. If he does, let me know. I'll be your second."

"Thanks Draco," Harry replied, smiling. "I appreciate it, even if I suppose that you'll have to be his second, considering that he's your housemate."

"Ah, probably yes," Draco replied, rolling his eyes in apparent annoyance, and the two boys hurried to the Great Hall behind everyone else.

During lunch, Ronald Weasley walked over to the Ravenclaw table in apparent determination.

"Potter, I challenge you to a wizard's duel in the trophy room at midnight," he said in a small voice, only loud enough for the quartet to hear.

"Accepted," Harry replied, without even looking at the redhead. "Let's keep this to ourselves," he instructed Hermione and his siblings. "I don't want our whole class to join us and get punished for being out after curfew."

HP

At midnight, the quartet as well as Ronald Weasley and Draco Malfoy met in the trophy room together with the Weasley twins, who informed them that they had been asked to make the jury.

"If you're impartial, I don't mind," Harry agreed. He had observed the funny twins since his first day at Hogwarts and decided that they were not too bad, even if they were Weasleys.

"Only wands are allowed…"

"… in this duel," the twins began, causing Harry to interrupt.

"No," he contradicted in a firm voice, efficiently keeping a grin from his face. "Since I'm the challenged party, it's up to me to choose the weapons."

"Oh…"

"… that's correct," the twins conceded, looking at him in clear expectation.

"We're going to use our hands," Harry replied in a firm voice.

"This is a wizard's duel in case you haven't noticed," Ronald growled.

"Instead of bothering to reply, Harry cast a silent, wandless Expelliarmus spell at his opponent, only to catch the boy's wand in his right hand and hand it to the twins.

"Very well…"

"… no wands," the twins decided.

"Now everyone apart from Ron and Harry and their seconds…"

"…Malfoy and Longbottom…"

"… back up there."

Harry quickly cast a strong Protego charm over Hermione and Susan, who had obediently stepped back, before he nodded signalling the twins that he was ready.

A moment later, the twins motioned them to begin.

While Ronald stormed over to him, Harry swiftly cast a confusion spell at the other boy, quickly followed by a tickling spell, causing his opponent to stop in his tracks, sit down on the floor and scratch himself. Harry waited for Ronald to somehow continue, however, the other boy seemed contented to scratch himself. Bored, he cancelled both spells.

"You git," Ronald hissed, as he stormed up against Harry. Unable to cast any magic without his wand, he used his fist and slammed it into the Ravenclaw's face, breaking his nose.

 _'Ouch,'_ Harry thought. Now getting angry, he decided to end the farce and transfigured Ronald into a yellow duck with a bright orange beak, before he cast another confusion spell at the small animal.

Under huge applause from the girls, Neville and Draco, the twins ended the duel, acknowledging that Harry had won.

Harry turned to Susan, glad when his sister immediately healed his nose with a wandless spell.

"Thanks," he mouthed, gratefully, careful to not alert Ronald to the fact that he was already healed.

However, Duck Ronald was far too occupied to notice anything like that. He stepped up to Harry, letting out a series of upset sounding "Quack quack quack quack quacks."

Chuckling, Harry could not resist and swiftly transformed into his chameguise form and further into a duck matching Ronald's form.

=You stupid git,= the other duck spat, causing Harry to chuckle.

=You are the stupid one,= he hissed back. =Simply change back to your human form and accept that you lost.=

With that, he quickly changed back and motioned his friends to leave, while Ronald angrily followed him in his duck form.

"That was stupid," Susan whispered to him, while Hermione stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Quack quack quack quack quack quack."

Casting a wandless silencing spell at the duck, Harry turned to the twins. "You better take him to someone who is willing to change him back."

The twins eyed each other.

"Pomfrey or…?"

"… McGonagall?"

"Both are scary…"

"… Couldn't you just…"

"… transfigure him back please?"

"No. Good night," Harry replied and ushered his friends back to Ravenclaw.

HP

When he and Neville were back in their room, he had an idea. "Spirit," he called the head house-elf of Slytherin manor, causing the elf to appear in front of him. "Thanks for coming," he said, gently. "Would you please be so kind and cast sleeping spells at Susan and her room-mate Hermione as well as Neville and me? That would be highly appreciated."

"Of course," Spirit promised, grinning broadly. "Good night, Harry and Neville."

An instant later, the quartet was fast asleep.

HP

At the same time, the Weasley twins took their still silently quacking brother to Madam Pomfrey, deciding that she was less likely to take a lot of house points than their own head of house.

When they told the healer what had happened, Pomfrey shook her head in exasperation. "I'm not an expert in Transfiguration," she told the twins. "We need to call Professor McGonagall here to change your brother back."

With that, she called not only the Gryffindor head but also Flitwick and Snape as the heads of Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

HP

Severus groaned in annoyance, when the healer demanded that he should step through the fireplace. ' _What have they done now?_ ' he thought, irritated, seeing that it was almost one o'clock in the morning.

"I'll check on my students and verify that this is true," Flitwick informed the small group upon hearing the story from the Weasley twins, before he hurried away.

"I highly doubt that Mr. Potter, who is a first-year like your brother, is able to wandlessly transfigure your brother into a duck," Severus sneered against better knowledge, looking at the Gryffindor head.

"Exactly," she confirmed, before she swiftly changed Ronald back to his human form, only to continue, "Two hundred points from Gryffindor and one hundred points from Slytherin for being out of bed after curfew."

"Malfoy was out of bed, too," Ronald grumbled, "and Potter and his three side-kicks as well."

"Cicero," Severus called his private house-elf, knowing that Draco was not stupid enough to let himself get caught. "Please check if Mr. Malfoy is awake and if so ask him if he was present for a wizard's duel between Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter."

An instant later, Cicero was back, just when Professor Flitwick stepped into the room.

"Mr. Malfoy is fast asleep," the elf reported.

"My students are definitely asleep as well, and Mr. Potter does not have a broken nose," Flitwick added, causing Severus to smirk.

"Ronald Weasley, one week of detention with Mr. Filch for your insolence. Next time you challenge someone, be careful that he isn't much more capable than yourself, and now go to bed, before I take more points off the three of you."

HP

The next day was a Saturday, however, when the boys had believed that they could sleep in, they were mistaken, because a very eager and excited looking Hermione Granger woke them up extremely early.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and your expectations for this story. Any opinions or ideas are very welcome._


	20. Halloween

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

"Explain!" Hermione demanded, staring at Harry.

"Good morning, Hermione," Harry replied, sleepily. "Sorry, but what do you want me to explain?" he asked in confusion.

"You're a duck Animagus," Hermione stated, matter-of-factly. "How did you manage that? You're still a first-year, even if you're ahead in some subjects."

 _'Ah, that,'_ Harry nodded in understanding. "Let's step through the door here and we'll explain," he promised, ushering Hermione and his siblings into the founders' quarters.

"All three of us are Animagi," he then explained, and Susan and Neville quickly transformed into their chameguise forms. "This is a chameguise, a magical chameleon, which is able to change into any other animal," he informed the girl, making Susan and Neville transform into their feline forms.

Hermione's eyes widened at the sight of the two cats.

"Teach me. Please," she demanded, firmly. "I do whatever you want me to do in return."

Harry chuckled. "We don't need anything in return, however, it's not that easy." Firmly instructing her to keep the matter to herself, he promised, "I'll brew the Animagus potion for you later on. Do you know what animal you wish to become?"

"A cat," Hermione replied, gently caressing Susan's ears – to Harry's amusement.

"Just so you know, that's my sister you're cuddling with," he said, chuckling, causing Hermione to blush and profusely apologize to Susan.

"No problem," Susan replied upon changing back into her human form. "Actually, it felt good. Why don't you try to become a chameguise as well? You can always just change into a cat."

Hermione nodded and at the same time let out a deep sigh. "Doesn't it afford much magic to become a magical animal?" she then asked. "As you know, I'm muggleborn. I don't know if my magic is strong enough."

"Helga?" Susan addressed, questioningly.

The founder let out a deep sigh. "That's difficult for me to decide, dear," she replied. "A person's magic doesn't have anything to do with them being muggleborn, half-bloods or purebloods. I believe that it's worth a try."

"Hermione," Neville spoke up, seemingly pensive. "I don't think that your magic is weak. You're always one of the first besides us to manage a new spell correctly in class. That wouldn't happen if your magic was weak."

"Well said," Rowena commended him. "As Helga said, just try it out."

"I'm going to brew the Animagus potion," Harry decided. "In the meantime, you could go home and convince Dad to make the Crystal of Atlantis for Hermione."

"Do you want me to assist?" Susan offered, causing Harry to give her a grateful smile.

"Thanks. That would be nice. Neville, can you take Hermione home and speak with Dad? Perhaps David can assist him."

"Of course," his brother confirmed and motioned the girl towards the connecting door to Gryffindor Manor.

By the time Harry and Susan followed with a phial of the completed potion, James had already headed to his lab with David as his assistant, and Lily lightly scolded them.

"You can't simply brew the Animagus potion for anyone," she said in a firm voice. "Minerva will be very upset if she hears about it."

"We know, Mum, and we won't do this for anyone," Susan replied, sighing. "Hermione isn't just anyone though," she added, glancing at Harry.

"Exactly," he confirmed.

"I know that," Lily said in a soothing voice. "I just don't want it to happen for anyone else."

"Is that clear?" Remus enquired, giving the quartet a stern look.

"Yes sir," the trio and Hermione replied, simultaneously.

"What did they do now?" Minerva enquired, as she stepped into the room only to hear Lily's and Remus' words.

She was quickly filled in, and Harry was not much surprised, when her mouth stretched to an angry line.

"That's still harmless, however, compared to what your children did last night," she said, glaring at Harry. When everyone looked at her, questioningly, she replied, "Apparently, Harry fought a wizard's duel against Ronald Weasley, instigated by Ronald if I'm correctly informed."

"Draco told me that Ron always complains about me, and Draco challenged him to a wizard's duel," Harry explained, "however, Ron wanted to duel me instead."

"Apparently," Minerva continued, "during this duel, Ronald fought with muggle means and broke Harry's nose, before Harry transfigured the boy into a duck."

"Well done," Sirius intoned, causing Minerva to cast him an angry glare.

"Well, he did win," she acknowledged, "however, we do not transfigure people into animals, Harry. Never."

"I know, and I won't do it again," Harry promised, thinking to himself, _'or at least I won't let them catch me.'_

"The next time I won't help you by openly doubting that you were able to cast so difficult spells, without your wand at that," Severus spoke up, smirking."

"All right sir, thanks for covering for me last night," Harry replied, grinning.

HP

Most of the weekend was spent helping Hermione to transform into her chameguise form. While the girl practised, the other three were playing in their Animagus forms, changing into cats, dogs, pigs and even phoenixes with pleasure.

At the same time, the younger trio watched their efforts with a combination of amazement and envy and once again tried to convince the adults to have them become Animagi as well – to no avail.

"You have to wait until the summer before your first Hogwarts year," James repeated in a firm voice.

All of a sudden, Godric transformed into his Animagus form, which was a fire phoenix. #Why don't you flash into the headmaster's office and pay Fawkes a visit?# he addressed Harry, who was just trying to walk around the room in his water phoenix's feet.

#Are you sure that the headmaster won't know who I am and that Fawkes won't give me out?# Harry trilled back. #He'll surely understand Fawkes' talking.#

#Fawkes is as mischievous as a phoenix can be, Harry. But you can trust him. He won't give you out,# Godric reassured him, causing Harry to spend the next hour practising to flash from one side of the Parlour to the other, before he flashed into his own room and finally to Hogwarts to visit Fawkes.

To Harry's relief, Dumbledore was absent, and the young phoenix spent a while chatting with Fawkes, who was indeed very funny. As soon as the headmaster returned to his office, however, Harry flashed back home.

HP

It took a week, before Hermione was able to change from her chameguise form into a kneazle cat, and when she finally managed the transformation, the four first-years decided to spend the evening roaming the castle in their feline forms.

"Perhaps we should all set our own cat forms aside and instead transform into tabby cats looking like Minerva, so that no one will be able to tell who we are," Harry suggested, and they all quickly changed into tabby cats, looking completely identical.

The four felines spent hours roaming the castle, especially unused parts, which none of them had ever visited before. All of a sudden, however, the corridor that they were just roaming ended in front of a large door.

Neville quickly transformed back into his human form and cast "Alohomora," glad when he was able to open the door. He was just about to transform back, when the three felines, who had curiously run through the open door, let out shrieks of obvious distress. Dismissing the idea of transforming, he quickly looked around the door, his eyes widening in shock upon seeing a three-headed dog sitting in a small chamber. As soon as the three felines had left the room, he fiercely closed the door, casting a couple of strong locking spells just to be sure.

=What was that?= one of the cats, who he believed to be Susan, blurted out, her tail swishing quickly from one side to the other. =A three-headed dog?=

=I think he was sitting on a trap door,= Hermione added, eagerly cleaning her right front paw.

=Why would there be a trap door at Hogwarts?= feline Harry asked in apparent disbelief.

"Oh well, I better change back now as well," Neville decided and hurriedly transformed back, not a moment too early, because Mrs. Norris chose that instant to enter the corridor.

=Who are you?= the caretaker's cat enquired with apparent curiosity, and when the children had be afraid that the cat would give them out, they were completely mistaken, as she sat next to Neville and began to gently lick his fur, purring contentedly.

 _'Well, that's that,_ ' Harry thought in surprise. The five cats spent a while cuddling with each other, before Filch appeared calling for Mrs. Norris.

=Oh I'm sorry, my familiar is calling for me. I need to go. It was nice cuddling with you. Will I see you again?= she asked, as she slowly made her way out of the corridor.

=We'll be around,= Hermione replied, purring contentedly.

"That was strange," Susan stated, once they reached the founders' quarters and transformed back into their human forms, and everyone agreed.

"It was," Hermione agreed. "What do you think the dog is guarding?"

Neville shrugged, as he suggested, "Why don't we go home and ask if anyone knows anything."

Hermione glanced at her wristwatch, realising that it was already long beyond curfew. "Let's just take the shortcuts to our rooms for once," she suggested, and this time, everyone followed her lead.

HP

Harry felt incredibly bored, as he observed his classmates practise making a feather hover in front of them. _'I wished we could skip all the core classes,_ ' he thought in annoyance. _'This is such a waste of time.'_ He observed how Daphne, one of his Slytherin classmates, tried to help Ronald with the charm; however, the redhead was much too stubborn for his own good. The girl was not exactly gentle, which was understandable, as she was probably upset to have to sit next to him, however, she was extremely patient to say the least.

' _We're already eight weeks into the school year, and he still always tries to sit with one of the Slytherins_ ,' Harry thought, happy that everyone else had followed his lead to sit in a mixed-up way.

 _'Today is Halloween_ ,' he mused. Ever since his mother had tricked Voldemort ten years ago, the extended family had celebrated their secret victory, and Harry wished that he and his siblings were able to spend the evening at home; however, there was a Halloween feast going to take place in the Great Hall, and even his father had told them that he was going to attend.

Sebastian Slytherin only rarely took the meals in the Great Hall in spite of being the professor for Alchemy. _'Too bad that it's only a sixth- and seventh-year class,_ ' Harry thought. _'At least, it would be something new for us.'_

He was brought back to reality, when Professor Flitwick ended the class and released them with the instruction to practise.

Together with Blaise, who had been sitting next to him, Harry left the room, only to witness how Ronald spoke to Draco making fun of Daphne.

"She's so full of herself, thinking that she was better than me. Stupid know-it-all bitch," he ranted to his housemate, who merely glared at the redhead in return.

Just an instant later, Harry saw Daphne run away from their group, seeming uncharacteristically upset. _'Usually, she's as calm as Hermione, and she's really nice,_ ' he thought, already having paired up with the girl a couple of times, especially during Herbology class. Turning to Ron, he spoke up. "Daphne kindly tried to help you, because you didn't manage to properly cast the charm. You really are a git and don't deserve people to help you."

"Exactly," Draco growled.

Nevertheless, they could not prevent Daphne from missing her remaining afternoon classes, and when they headed to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Susan told Harry, Neville and Hermione that she had seen Daphne crying in the girl's toilet.

"She told me that everyone is really nice here, but that Ronald tries to harass her every now and then for whatever reason she doesn't know," Susan whispered only for the quartet to hear.

"Should I go and speak with her?" Harry whispered back.

"No, you can't," Hermione replied, rolling her eyes. "It's a girl's toilet, and Susan already tried to convince her to attend the feast in vain."

HP

 _'Tonight, it's ten years since Harry and I managed to save James and me from Voldemort,_ ' Lily thought, as she sat at the head table in the Great Hall, glancing at her husband, who for once had joined the teachers for the feast.

 _'I can understand that he prefers to take at least dinner at home with our extended family,_ ' she thought; _'however, our colleagues are all really nice. Maybe with the exception of Quirinus Quirrell,'_ she added as an afterthought. _'He's more than strange, and he keeps getting on my nerves with his stuttering.'_

 _'Speaking of the devil_ ,' she inwardly groaned, when the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor rushed into the Great Hall.

"Troll – in the dungeons – thought you ought to know," the strange professor shouted, for once without any sign of stutter, before he collapsed on the floor, causing a huge tumult to break out among the students, while the professors helplessly looked at the headmaster.

Casting a Sonorus charm on himself, Professor Dumbledore addressed the students and ordered them to keep calm and the prefects to escort everyone to their houses.

 _'Well, that was a quick feast,'_ Lily thought, looking forward to some celebration at Gryffindor Manor.

HP

"Daphne," Susan suddenly whispered to Harry and Neville, when they turned to the doors. "She doesn't know about the troll."

"Oh right, I'll look for her," Harry decided. "Neville, will you come with me?"

"We're going to come, too," Susan decided. "Maybe you need a healer's apprentice."

Letting out a long sigh, Harry realised that she had a valid point. "All right, Neville, please escort Hermione to Ravenclaw, Susan and I will look for Daphne."

He pulled Susan into a nearby alcove and uttered "Cats", glad that Susan was able to understand him without many words. Simultaneously, they transformed into their feline forms and hurried towards the toilets.

Unfortunately, the door was closed, and the two Ravenclaws quickly transformed into their human forms to open it. Closely followed by his sister, Harry entered the room and spotted Daphne, who was sitting on the floor scribbling on what seemed to be a parchment.

"Err, are you aware that this is the girl's toilet?" she addressed him, her eyes red from crying.

"There's a troll running around the school," Harry informed her.

"… and Dumbledore told everyone to return to their houses," Susan added.

"A troll?" Daphne enquired in apparent disbelief, just when the door opened again and a very large and extremely stinky figure entered the bathroom, causing all three children to scream in shock.

"Let's transfigure him into a cat," Harry whispered to Susan. He concentrated on his magic, willing it to add to Susan's, when both pointed their hands at the troll, transfiguring him into a dark grey Kneazle cat.

Daphne's eyes widened in surprise. "That was amazing. Thank you so much for saving me from the troll," she uttered, as she rose from the floor in apparent confusion.

Before Harry or Susan could even think of a reply, the door opened again, revealing Minerva, Severus and the headmaster.

"What do you think you're doing here?" the Gryffindor head enquired in a strict voice. "I believe that Professor Dumbledore has instructed everyone to return to their common rooms."

"They came to warn me about the troll, as I didn't know about it," Daphne was the first to respond.

"And we caught him," Harry added, pointing at the Kneazle cat, which was slowly walking about the room, its tail waggling in clear agitation.

"That was a troll?" Minerva blurted out in apparent disbelief. "That's unbelievable." She gave Harry a questioning look, causing him to nod, unobtrusively. Just a moment later, a tabby cat stood in front of the Kneazle.

=What happened to you?= she asked, giving the unknown cat a sharp look. =Do you understand me?= she tried, when the other feline did not react.

However, the Kneazle did not give any hint that he might have heard her let alone understood the question, instead chose to drool all over the place.

"I believe that the students are correct and that this is indeed not a real cat," she informed her colleagues after transforming back.

"Are you certain that this is the troll and not a student, who for some reason finds himself in a feline form?" Dumbledore enquired in a firm voice, causing Harry to inwardly roll his eyes in annoyance.

"Yes sir," Daphne replied, firmly.

With a flick of the headmaster's wand, the Kneazle cat vanished from the spot.

"Ten points to Ravenclaw for a well-done transformation," Dumbledore added, smiling at Harry and Susan.

"And ten points each from Ravenclaw for not being where you were supposed to be," Severus spoke up, smirking.

"Ten points each to Ravenclaw for doing the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor's job," Minerva countered in a firm voice, "and now return to your houses, before we have to take more points."

"Yes Professor," the three first-years replied and hurried out of the bathroom.

As soon as everyone else was out of sight, Susan turned to Harry. "Did you see that Severus was limping?" she whispered in apparent concern. "I wonder what happened to him."

"Let's go home," Harry replied. "He and Minerva will surely join us soon."

HP

Harry and Susan realised in relief that Neville, Hermione, Lily and James were already at home enjoying the Halloween dinner, when they arrived. However, it took about thirty minutes, before Minerva and Severus joined them.

"Severus, what happened to you?" Susan enquired, before anyone else had even noticed that he was limping.

"Ah, that bloody Cerberus bit me," Severus replied, sighing.

"A Cerberus? Oh, is that the three-headed dog on the third floor?" Harry blurted out, before he could stop himself.

"How in the world do you know about that?" Minerva enquired, glaring at him in obvious annoyance.

"Why did you go to see that dog though?" Harry asked, giving Severus a concerned look, while Susan closely examined the wound on his leg.

Severus let out a deep sigh. "I believe that Quirrell let the troll in as a diversion, while he was going to attempt to get beyond the Cerberus," he finally explained, only to add, "but that's all I'm going to tell you about that dog."

Harry smirked. "Oh well, too bad that you took points off Ravenclaw earlier," he said in a soft voice. "Otherwise, I'd simply transform into a phoenix and heal you with phoenix tears," he added, causing the adults to shout in a chorus, "Harry!"

"What?" Harry asked, innocently, before he transformed and, glad that he had already practised his phoenix form a few times, stepped over to Severus and swiftly let some tears drop onto the wound.

"I wondered how I could bring myself to cry," he told the others, once he was back in his human form, "but it worked easily upon seeing Severus being in pain.

"Thanks Harry," Severus replied, seemingly relaxing.

"Twenty points to Ravenclaw for helping a professor in need," Minerva added, smiling.

"Sorry Severus, will you please explain what you know about Professor Quirrell?" Harry changed the topic.

"He seems strange, yes, but is he evil?" Neville added, looking at Severus with apparent curiosity.

"Frankly speaking, but it's only a feeling, as I don't have any proof yet, I believe that he might be possessed by the Dark Lord," Severus replied, letting out a long sigh.

"What?" Amelia spoke up in clear shock. "Severus, are you sure?"

Severus shook his head. "No, it's just a feeling."

"Severus," Regulus spoke up in a firm voice. "Please inform me if you have a staff meeting or something, where I can observe Quirrell from nearby. I'm going to attend the meeting, invisibly. I believe that this is something for the Unspeakables to investigate."

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and your expectations for this story. Any opinions or ideas are very welcome. Please do not relax too much. Not everything will go well in this story..._


	21. Quidditch and Quirrell

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

So far, the first-year quartet did not come into much contact with Quidditch. The match between Gryffindor and Slytherin had taken place the previous weekend, and the quartet had been sitting with the Slytherins, cheering when the match ended with a victory for Slytherin. They knew that there was a Quidditch team in Ravenclaw as well, which practised regularly, however, due to their almost constant absence from the common room, they were not aware of the details.

One evening, however, they overheard Ben, the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, tell his team in an upset voice that the Seeker had taken ill and that they urgently needed someone to play Seeker.

"Why don't you ask Harry?" Susan spoke up, smiling. "He's the best Seeker I can imagine."

"Really?" Ben asked, looking straight at Harry.

Harry shrugged. "Well, I love to play Seeker," he admitted, "but as far as I know, first-years aren't allowed to play on the team."

"I'll speak with Professor Flitwick," Ben decided and hurried towards the head table only to return an instant later.

"It's all set. You may play tomorrow," he announced. "Would you mind practising with the team for a while after dinner?"

Harry agreed and spent the two hours after dinner playing Quidditch with the Ravenclaw team, catching the Snitch what seemed to be about a dozen times.

 _'Thank Merlin that Dad donated whole sets of brooms to Hogwarts,_ ' Harry thought, ' _even if they're still his first model. I wouldn't know how to fly so well on a different broom.'_

When Ben ended the practice and called the players down, he patted Harry on the back and said, "Consider yourself on the team from next year onwards. You're the best Seeker we've ever had."

"Thanks," Harry replied, feeling very much self-conscious at the unexpected praise. "I just hope I'll be able to catch the Snitch in the match tomorrow."

"See to it," the captain said, smirking.

HP

Regulus was sitting in the teachers' stand together with Severus, inwardly chuckling at the strange looks that Severus received from his colleagues after introducing him as his friend Reggie. He was wearing a ring, which Lily had charmed for him so that everyone aware of who he was could properly see him, while no one unaware of his identity would be able to recognise him.

The two wizards, who had become good friends over the last couple of years, were sitting right behind Quirinus Quirrell, and Regulus used the opportunity to cast a couple of wandless spells at the other wizard.

 _'There are indeed two identities,'_ Regulus realised in surprise. _'He definitely seems to be possessed, but is that by the Dark Lord? How can I be sure that's him?_ ' He pondered the matter, while he observed his surrogate nephew cruise the air above the Quidditch pitch in search for the Golden Snitch.

All of a sudden, he noticed that Harry's broom acted up strangely. Severus seemed to have realised the same and began to cast what seemed to be a counter curse. Regulus' eyes widened, as realisation set in. From diagonally behind Quirrell, he could see that the man was also moving his lips.

 _'Quirrell is cursing Harry,_ ' he realised, feverishly pondering what to do. In lack of a better idea, he unobtrusively cast a strong sleeping spell at the wizard in front of him, making him slump in his seat, fast asleep. At the same time, Harry regained control of his broom, and the match continued as if nothing had happened.

Regulus quickly sent a Patronus to Amelia, instructing her to come to the Hogwarts grounds, teachers' stand, to take Quirinus Quirrell into custody.

As expected, it merely took the witch five minutes to approach him, as she had been enjoying her Saturday at home together with the family. She gave him a questioning look.

"Just sit down until the match is over," Regulus whispered to her, making her sit in the empty seat next to him and slowly pulling his Unspeakable robes out of his robe pocket, ready to cover himself, as soon as it would be time to act.

As if sensing that it was the right time to end the game, Harry chose that moment to catch the Snitch, and Madam Hooch shouted for everyone to hear, "Harry Potter has caught the Snitch. Ravenclaw wins."

HP

Harry landed on the ground, feeling relieved, happy and somewhat proud to have been able to help his Quidditch team win the match. Before he knew what happened, he felt himself being pulled into a bear hug by Susan and Hermione. Neville, Daphne and Tracey were standing next to them, observing the group hug in apparent amusement.

"Well done, Harry," Neville told him.

"Yes, that was a great catch," Daphne added, only to ask in apparent concern, "What happened to your broom during the match?"

"Right, we saw that, too. Harry, what happened?" Susan enquired, giving him a worried look.

Harry shrugged. "Someone must have jinxed my broom. But then, all of a sudden, it stopped. I don't know what that was, but I'm glad that it stopped when it did," he admitted, sheepishly.

"How strange," Hermione replied, pensively. "But who in the world would jinx your broom? You don't have any enemies, do you?"

 _'Voldemort.'_ The name popped up at the forefront of his mind; however, he did not voice it, not wanting his family and friends to worry about him.

"Could it have been Professor Quirrell?" Daphne suddenly asked. "I just saw that Mrs. Black-Bones was in the teachers' stands together with one of the Unspeakables, and they took Quirrell with them."

"What?" Harry blurted out in shock.

"Oh, but that may be," Susan commented. "Remember what Professor Snape told us on Halloween." Seeing Daphne and Tracey cast her questioning looks, she let out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry, but we can't tell you that, as it's not our secret."

"My only enemy is Voldemort AKA the Dark Lord," Harry said in a small voice, causing the two Slytherin girls to gasp.

Before the girls could even think of a response though, the small group was surrounded by the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, and Harry felt himself being dragged to the common room.

"Well, we can spend some time in the common room for once I suppose," Susan stated, when the quartet occupied one of the comfortable sofas in front of the fireplace.

"You know, your house is supposed to be your family," one of the fifth-year prefects, Mary, addressed them, "so it might be good to spend one or the other evening at home."

"Sorry, but three of us are student assistants," Susan informed the older witch, "and we assist our professors on most evenings."

"Apart from that, it should be our choice to decide whom to spend time with," Neville added in a firm voice.

"I, for example," Harry spoke up, "would like to spend time together with some of the Slytherins; however, there's no way we can bring them into the common room with us."

"No, because no one else would want them here," Mary replied in a firm voice. "Just know that the Ravenclaws don't like your constant absence. We usually help each other with homework and other things here."

"So do we, wherever we choose to study," Hermione replied, smiling.

"Well, this party is not exactly what I expected," Harry then decided. "Let's leave."

"Don't listen to Mary," one of the older students told the quartet, when they were on their way out of the common room. "She's a bitch."

"Thanks," Harry replied, nodding his appreciation. Only when they were outside the portrait hole, did he ask, "Who was that?"

"I think her name is Cho," Hermione informed him. "She must be in second or third year."

"Oh right," Neville spoke up. "Shall we go home then?"

Hermione glanced at her wrist watch. "It's thirty minutes before dinner. Shouldn't we attend dinner in the Great Hall and then go home?"

"Yes, that's less obvious," Susan agreed and suggested roaming the castle in their cat forms for a while.

HP

At dinner the same evening, the headmaster announced that Professor Quirrell unfortunately had an accident and that Defence Against the Dark Arts classes would be cancelled for the time being.

 _'Until he finds some equally incompetent replacement,'_ Lily thought, regretting that she had come to attend dinner instead of eating together with her enlarged family to hear from Amelia and Regulus what had happened first hand.

 _'Oh well, I still need to set an example for the children,_ ' she thought, knowing that it was important for the trio respectively quartet to attend dinner in the Great Hall.

HP

Amelia and Regulus took Quirrell right into a warded room within the Department of Magical Mysteries. Quickly casting another sleeping spell at the prisoner and in quick succession a silencing charm around themselves, Regulus informed Amelia of his earlier findings. "I believe that he's possessed, but I don't have proof by whom. Considering how he jinxed Harry's broom though, I tend to believe Severus' guess that it might be the Dark Lord."

Amelia nodded in understanding. "Why else would he have attacked Harry, completely unprovoked? Did you try Legilimency?"

Regulus shook his head. "No, I didn't get a chance to do that. Today was my first attempt to check him out, and he was sitting in front of me. I suggest that we question him under Veritaserum and see what happens."

Amelia let out a deep sigh. Usually, she was extremely reluctant to use Veritaserum on captives if not ordered by the Wizengamot or by court. _'On the other hand, Severus wouldn't have voiced his assumption if he hadn't been fairly sure,_ ' she thought.

"The question is," she said, pensively, "what we're going to do if it gets confirmed that it's Voldemort who's possessing him."

"There is a spell to banish a possessing spirit from a person," Regulus informed her. "The problem is that we need Quirrell to assist by allowing the spirit to take over for the time being. Otherwise, he might die in the process."

Amelia sighed. "Let's wake him up and ask him." Seeing him stare at her, silently, she conceded, "Very well then, give him Veritaserum before waking him up."

When Quirrell's mind returned to awareness, Regulus spoke up. "Mr. Quirrell, we know that you are housing the spirit of You-Know-Who in the back of your head. Can you confirm this?"

"Yes," Quirrell replied automatically, forced by the Veritaserum.

"We need you to allow the spirit to take over your mind for a moment, so that we can help you get rid of him," Regulus continued, causing the prisoner to feverishly search his robes for his wand.

"We've taken your wand, when we brought you in," Amelia informed him in a firm voice. "Please do as Unspeakable Raros tells you, or the consequences might be dire."

Nothing happened, and she glanced at Regulus in confusion.

"Plan B," he mumbled, as he cast a wandless spell at the possessed wizard, causing a black could to emerge from the back of his head, while Quirrell sank onto the ground, seemingly unconscious.

Amelia hurriedly cast a banishing charm at the black cloud, apparently to no avail, while Regulus cast a different spell, which she could not recognise. However, they both stared in horror at the black cloud that unhindered vanished through the wall.

"Oh no," Regulus breathed in obvious disappointment.

"He got away," Amelia added, dryly, completely shocked at their failure. "Is Quirrell alive?" she then asked.

"He is," Regulus confirmed. "I'm going to take him to St. Mungo's. I'll see you at home afterwards."

HP

"So he's still around and can come back possessing another person at any time?" Harry enquired upon hearing the story.

"Yes," Regulus admitted, letting out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry."

"That's not your fault, Uncle Regulus," Harry replied, sighing as well. "We'll just have to keep our eyes open."

HP

As much as the quartet tried to keep their eyes open, skimming every person around them with suspicion, nothing happened before the beginning of the Christmas holidays.

Upon the children's begging, Lily had invited the Grangers to join them at Gryffindor Manor over the two weeks of holidays, and the muggles had accepted happily, especially after Hermione wrote to them that she wished nothing more than to spend the holidays together with her parents at her friends' home.

"Let's just go home tomorrow morning," Harry said to the others, when they spent some time in the founders' quarters. "It would be such a loss of time to take the Hogwarts Express to London just only to return home afterwards. Instead, we could spend some quality time in Hogsmeade buying Christmas presents."

"Oh, that's a great idea," Hermione agreed, eagerly. "I don't have anything for anyone yet, and I'd love to see Hogsmeade. I've never been there before."

"I just hope no one is going to miss us," Susan replied, pensively.

"Sorry Susan, but who would miss us?" Harry enquired.

"Daphne, Tracey, Draco, perhaps Ronald Weasley," Neville offered, smirking.

"Thank you all so much for allowing me to join your big family," Hermione said in a soft voice.

"We're glad to have you," Neville replied, gently, causing Harry to look at his brother with suspicion.

 _'It looks as if he likes Hermione,'_ he thought, feeling amused yet thrilled at the idea.

HP

After breakfast, Harry motioned for Draco, Daphne and Tracey to follow him through the connecting door into the Potions classroom, where the quartet said good-bye to their friends.

"Will you not be on the train later on?" Draco asked, giving the quartet an assessing look.

"No. We want to spend some time in Hogsmeade to buy Christmas presents," Hermione explained, eagerly.

' _She's so excited about going to Hogsmeade; it's really funny,'_ Harry thought in amusement, however, knew better than to share his thoughts with the girl.

HP

While the girls seemed to thoroughly enjoy the trip into the small town looking for Christmas presents, Harry found it fairly annoying, especially as he had no idea what to buy for the younger trio as well as for his friends.

"Maybe we should split for an hour and then meet at the apothecary," Susan suggested at one stage and dragged Harry with her, leaving Hermione with Neville.

"That was a good idea," Harry agreed and suggested to head to Flourish & Blotts to buy a book about the magical world for Hermione.

They were lucky and found a tome, _'Traditions of the Magical World.'_ As it was quite expensive, they decided to buy it together and proceeded to look for some kind of special Herbology book for Neville.

HP

The whole family enjoyed spending Christmas at home. Only Minerva and Severus – as the heads of Gryffindor and Slytherin – had to attend at least dinner at Hogwarts.

"I'll be glad when you're going to take over as Slytherin head in two and a half years' time," Severus said to Lily, when the extended family was assembled around the dining table the following morning.

"Well, that's that," Lily spoke up, sighing. "It's much more urgent to find a replacement for Quirrell though."

Minerva let out a deep sigh. "If we wait for Albus to act, it might become catastrophic," she admitted. "Apparently, the only person to apply for the job was Gilderoy Lockhart." Ignoring everyone's gasp, she let her eyes wander around the table. "Marlene, what about you?" she addressed her former student. "As a former Auror, you should be more than capable for the position."

Marlene gave her a wary look. "I don't know," she finally admitted. "Everyone knows that the McKinnons are dead."

"And the position is cursed," Sirius added up.

"Lily, go and speak with Hogwarts," Salazar spoke up in a firm voice. "She should be able to help you counter the curse."

"I'll do that," Lily agreed and headed towards the door in determination.

"As to the matter about the McKinnons," Severus said, causing Lily to look back with curiosity. Severus turned to Marlene, who was sitting on his right side and suggested in a gentle voice," Why don't you register under the name Marlene Snape?"

While everyone stared at the couple in apparent shock, he lowered himself onto his knee and asked in the soft, silky voice, which Lily had always liked very much, "Marlene, will you become my wife?"

 _'Finally,'_ Lily thought, grinning broadly, as she stepped through the connecting door into the founders' quarters to speak with Hogwarts.

By the time she returned, Marlene appeared to have accepted Severus' proposal, and the family was celebrating their engagement.

"Hogwarts instructed me to bring you to her, and she'll see to it that you'll be able to remain on the position as long as you wish without being affected by the curse," Lily quickly informed her friend.

"I look forward to the next school year," Harry suddenly changed the topic.

"Even if it's still some months away, it'll be great not to be the youngest anymore," Susan added.

"Yes," Hermione agreed, "and it's going to be so much fun to help the new first-years adjust to Hogwarts."

None of them could anticipate how one of the new first-years was going to bring horror and grief to the family.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. From the second year onwards, this story is going to be even more AU. Several reviewers asked me how long the Slytherins are going to continue being in hiding. It will take just a little longer._

 _Please tell me what you think about this chapter and your expectations for this story. Any opinions or ideas are very welcome._


	22. Study Rooms and Visions

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

 ** _Many thanks to my kind Facebook friends for their helpful assistance!_**

* * *

To everyone's relief, Albus Dumbledore accepted Marlene Snape as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, when Minerva, Lily and Severus suggested her in their staff meeting on the second of January.

Even if Professor Quirrell had not been a bad teacher, his continuous stuttering had got onto the students' nerves, and Marlene became soon appreciated by everyone.

"She's really good," Hermione said one Saturday morning, when the small group took a walk around the lake after breakfast.

"Yes, that's true…"

"… but we've been taught Defence since we've been small…"

"… and it's just boring for us," Neville and Susan completed Harry's reply.

"Maybe you could teach those who really have problems?" Hermione suggested, causing the trio to exchange a wary look.

"Where and when could we do such a thing?" Harry asked, pensively.

"We should make study rooms for every year," Susan suggested.

"Why don't we ask Hogwarts how to do such a thing," Neville added.

Hermione frowned. "Shouldn't we ask the professors?"

"No," Harry replied in a firm voice. "Come on. As the owner of Hogwarts, I can do that."

Together, the quartet headed into the Parlour of the founders' quarters, where Harry addressed the castle.

"Hogwarts, can you make seven study rooms for us, one for each year and big enough to accommodate a whole year?" he enquired.

"Yes dear, I can do that," Hogwarts informed him in a soft voice. "Please go and have a look at my unused parts. Tell me where you want the rooms," she instructed him.

Harry, Susan, Hermione and Neville spent Saturday morning roaming the unused parts of the castle in their feline forms, only occasionally transforming back into their human counterparts to clear one or the other corridor from dust.

Finally, they decided on a corridor on the far side of the castle with real windows showing the view onto the entrance to the Potions classroom and the road to Hogsmeade.

Harry laid his hand against the wall. "Hogwarts, we wish to have the seven rooms here in this corridor," he informed the castle.

"Very well, Harry," the old lady's gentle voice replied. "Please give me a few minutes."

The quartet patiently waited for further instructions, when all of a sudden, a door appeared in the wall in front of them.

"Seven doors," Hermione gasped in clear amazement.

"And they even have numbers," Susan added, hurrying towards the door with the '1' on it.

Inside, the room was about as large as the Ravenclaw common room, however, it was colourful, and an enormous Hogwarts crest occupied the wall opposite of the entrance door. It was completely void of furniture though.

"Of course, Hogwarts won't be able to add sofas and tables," Susan spoke up in realisation.

"We could either ask an elf or Mum," Harry replied, thoughtfully.

"Not the Hogwarts elves," Neville warned. "They're probably sworn to the headmaster."

"Spirit," Harry called the head house-elf of the Slytherin family and explained about the study rooms, which needed to be equipped with furniture.

"Harry, please give me some time," Spirit replied, gently. "I'll gather our elves, and we'll prepare the rooms for you."

"Thank you so much," Harry replied, smiling.

 _'Our own elves are the best,'_ he thought, when he returned home together with Susan, Neville and Hermione.

HP

At dinner the same evening, the quartet approached the head table. "Headmaster," Harry addressed Professor Dumbledore in a friendly yet firm voice, feeling very much reassured by the fact that his mother and Minerva were sitting on each side of the old wizard. "We would like to make an announcement for the students."

The headmaster cast him a questioning look, however, nodded, when Harry did not further elaborate.

"Hello everyone," Harry addressed the students, causing all house tables except for the Gryffindor table to quieten down immediately.

' _It almost seems as if they were especially loud just to annoy us,'_ Harry thought, indeed feeling very much upset by the lions' behaviour.

"Five points each from Gryffindor for your insolence, and now shut up," Severus spoke up in a voice that cut through the air, causing the Gryffindors to instantly shut up and stare at the head table.

"Hello everyone," Harry repeated and swiftly explained about the study rooms, offering to lead all students who were interested to their specific room right after dinner.

Huge applause, especially from the younger students, confirmed the general interest in the new rooms, and the four Ravenclaws contentedly set to return to their house table.

However, the headmaster called Harry back.

"Mr. Potter, as you know, I am the headmaster of this school," the old wizard began to talk, "and as such, you should have spoken to me about the matter before announcing it to the students."

"Albus, Mr. Potter and his friends have informed me beforehand," Minerva spoke up in a firm voice.

"They have also consulted me," Severus lied, "and like Minerva I thought that it was a brilliant idea to overcome the house rivalry."

"Well, yes, that's indeed true," Dumbledore mumbled. "Nevertheless, Mr. Potter, if you make any plans concerning the school, I wish to be consulted first."

Harry nodded in understanding, careful to not promise anything, before he headed back to the Ravenclaw table, rolling his eyes in annoyance at the old wizard. _'Godric told me that Fawkes suggested the same to Dumbledore months ago and he did nothing_ ,' he thought, feeling exasperated towards the old wizard.

HP

On the first evening, their whole Ravenclaw class and the Slytherin first-years minus Ronald Weasley gathered in the first-year study room. On the second evening, Padma brought her twin sister Parvarti, and on the third day, the whole first-year class assembled in the study room, much to the quartet's amazement.

The acceptation of the study rooms for the older years took more time, but by the end of the school year, which passed relatively uneventfully, all seven study rooms were put to good use.

"Harry," Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor Quidditch captain addressed the Ravenclaw first-year one day, "I just want to thank you for making the study rooms. Especially right before the OWLs, it means a lot that we're able to study together with everyone else, who have to take their OWLs this year."

"You're very welcome," Harry replied, smiling, inwardly grinning, as he had helped Ravenclaw to win their Quidditch match over Gryffindor.

HP

Like before, the quartet decided to not travel with the Hogwarts Express and just return home through the connecting door to Gryffindor Manor. Apart from three weeks at the end of the summer, during which her parents wanted to travel to the South of France with her, Hermione was going to stay with the extended family.

Susan, Harry and Neville still worked for their respective professors every morning, and Hermione spent the time with the younger trio. Niamh, David and Aidan were delighted to have the older girl there, who did not get tired answering their never-ending questions about Hogwarts and about the muggle world. In return, they told Hermione much about the magical world – things that were common knowledge for magically raised children.

HP

One day at dinner, Lily informed the children that they were going to have four younger siblings sometime during autumn, and everyone, especially the younger trio, was delighted.

"Do you think I haven't noticed that you and Aunt Alice, Aunt Marlene and Aunt Amelia are all pregnant?" Niamh asked, indignantly, causing everyone to laugh.

"You're probably the only one apart from myself," Susan replied, chuckling. "The boys wouldn't notice such a thing."

"Hey," Harry blurted out, giving his sister a playful nudge.

"What?" Susan asked, giving him a sharp look. "Did you notice?"

"Err, no," Harry admitted, sheepishly.

"Perhaps we will at some stage need your help," Marlene spoke up, glancing at Severus.

"Of course we'll help," Susan was the first to reply what the others thought.

"Of course," Hermione echoed.

"We'll help as well, especially as we still have to wait two more years, before we'll be allowed to attend Hogwarts," David reassured the adults, and Niamh nodded in confirmation.

' _Maybe they should just move into the founders' quarters,_ ' Harry thought. _'On the other hand, it's not much different now with the connecting door to the manor.'_

HP

As Hermione was scheduled to be away for most of August, the quartet had agreed with Daphne, Tracey and Draco to meet at Diagon Alley to shop for their school supplies together at the end of July.

Marlene and Amelia accompanied the quartet, while the others were in the company of Daphne's mother and Draco's father. While the quartet's favourite shop was Flourish and Blotts, the whole Weasley clan was there buying school books, and Mr. Weasley almost got into a fight with Mr. Malfoy, so that the children decided to just quickly grab their books and leave.

No one noticed that Mr. Malfoy added a black book to the youngest Weasley's shopping bag.

"I still wanted to look for something else to read," Hermione complained, once they were back in the alley.

"You could go into Hogsmeade tomorrow," Amelia suggested, and Hermione happily agreed.

HP

It was just a few days later that Lily was suddenly plagued by visions.

At first, it seemed like just a bad dream, which she could not even remember properly, however, after seeing the same or similar scenes three or four times, she realised in horror that it had to be a vision.

"What is the vision about?" Amelia enquired, when Lily buried herself in her bedroom one Sunday morning.

"It's about David being kidnapped and taken to Voldemort," Lily sobbed. "I don't know how and when it's going to take place though. He didn't seem much older than now."

"Voldemort?" Amelia asked in disbelief. "I thought he was gone. Oh no," she added in shock, as realisation set in. "You know, he got away in form of a black cloud. He was a mere spirit," she added.

"The one in the visions was just a normal person," Lily contradicted. "He was very young I think. I couldn't properly see him. I think it was him though. I don't know. It's just a feeling. The problem is that I don't have a clue what to do to keep David safe."

Amelia listened to her best friend, horrified. "Let's tell the whole family about the vision, so they can all help keeping him safe."

 _'Maybe we should move into the founders' quarters,'_ Lily mused; however, fairly quickly dismissed the idea, knowing that Gryffindor Manor was at least as safe as the castle.

HP

Unfortunately, Lily was so stressed over her visions that it harmed the unborn baby. On August 15, Annette Slytherin was born two months too early.

As usual, Perenelle Flamel oversaw the birth; however, she was extremely worried. "Lily, the baby is much too small and was born too early. I'm going to take the two of you to St. Mungo's."

"But the rest of the family needs me, too," Lily protested, weakly.

"Nonsense," Perenelle decided. "They have each other, but little Annette needs you now." She quickly made a Portkey and took the young mother and her baby to the hospital.

Only when she was certain that the two witches were in good hands, she returned to Gryffindor Manor and sent James after his wife.

HP

"Harry," Severus addressed him the following morning. "Since your mother is going to remain at the hospital for at least a month if not two, we need to consider how to cover her Potions classes."

"All right," Harry replied, feeling confused as to why the Potions Master was asking him. "What can I do?" he asked, helplessly.

"Would you be willing to teach the lower four classes?" Severus asked straight away. "While I could teach the classes, I also need to watch the apothecary."

"Do you think that I'm able to do such a thing?" Harry enquired, his eyes widening in shock.

"Yes," Severus confirmed. "Minerva, would you excuse Harry from his second-year classes for the time being?"

"Of course," Minerva said, gently. "He's very much advanced in most subjects anyway."

Apparently noticing how uncertain he felt, Amelia turned to Harry. "Harry, would you like to take your OWLs or even your NEWTs before the end of the holidays? Would that help you feel more reassured?"

Harry cast Amelia a hopeful look. "Yes please, if that's possible. Would I manage to pass them though?" he asked in Severus' direction.

"Of course," Severus replied, smirking. "Come on, let's spend the weekend in the lab."

HP

On Monday morning during the last week of holidays, Harry accompanied Amelia to the Ministry of Magic, where he took his Potions OWL together with a young goblin.

Later the same day, Amelia brought the test results home and congratulated him for being the youngest wizard, who had ever taken the Potions OWL. "And with best grades at that," she added, seeming very proud of her surrogate nephew. "If you wish, you may attend the NEWT, which is going to take place on Thursday," she informed him.

"I want to take them, too," Harry decided, before he turned to James. "Dad, can we go to see Mum? I want to show her my OWL certificate."

"I want to go and see Anni, too," David announced. "Maybe she's already a bit bigger."

Three days later, Harry took his Potions NEWT, and when Amelia handed him the certificate, he finally felt adequate enough to teach the first- through fourth-years, glad that Severus had spent so much time discussing the lesson plans with him.

HP

When the older trio was finished packing, Neville suddenly asked, "What are we going to do tomorrow? Do you want to board the Hogwarts Express, or should we just catch up with everyone, when they arrive?"

"Whatever you decide," Remus suddenly spoke up, "today is the thirty-first of August. Does anyone remember what that means?"

"Yes," Harry replied in understanding. "Two of us have to go and cast the spell for Amaterasu."

"I'll do it," Aidan spoke up. "May I, Uncle Moony?"

"Very well, come on then," Remus said, gently.

"Will the spell be strong enough?" Harry asked Salazar, once the two wizards had left for the grounds. "Aidan isn't even at Hogwarts yet."

"Usually, it suffices if one person casts the spell," Salazar reassured him. "I always did it by myself, so don't worry, young man. It will be perfect."

Finally, the trio decided to skip the Hogwarts Express in the morning and join their classmates and friends at the station in Hogsmeade.

HP

The quartet observed the new first-years' Sorting with interest. The four of them had seen to it that they took the seats right next to the empty seats, which were reserved for the first-years, so that they were able to get a first impression of their new housemates.

"Luna seems very interesting," Harry spoke up, once they met in the founders' quarters later that evening.

"She appears to be a bit crazy though," Hermione added, smirking.

"All right, I asked Minerva," Susan changed the topic. "The Ravenclaw and Slytherin first-years have Transfiguration first thing in the morning, and the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs have Potions."

"Well, I can take the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs with me then," Harry suggested. "Severus promised to meet me in the classroom before breakfast and help me prepare for the first morning class."

"That's good," Susan stated, seemingly contented. "Neville, can you take the Ravenclaws? I'll fetch the Slytherins. Then we can lead both groups together to the Transfiguration classroom."

Harry let out a deep sigh. "I'll meet you at lunchtime then if I'm still alive."

"Why would you not?" Hermione enquired. "You got best grades on your OWL and NEWT."

"Because the students are older than me, except for the first-years," Harry replied, yawning.

However, the Potions classes went well, and after the first two days, Harry felt much more confident teaching the students.

Nevertheless, he was relieved when his mother returned home with his baby sister and was able to at least take over the third- and fourth-year classes.

HP

"I'd take them all, but I really prefer having Anni with me, which is impossible in the Potions classroom," Lily explained. "I'm going to leave her with Poppy, while I'm teaching, but I still need to feed her every now and then. Would you mind continuing teaching the first- and second-years for the time being?" she asked, giving him a piercing look.

"No Mum, I don't mind. It's much fun, and the others are keeping me updated about our own classes. It would be too dangerous for Anni if you had to take her with you," Harry reassured his mother.

HP

On Sunday morning, Lily went to the Chamber of Secrets to visit Amaterasu like she usually did every Sunday. During her absence, Harry and David had visited the basilisk and had assured her that the large serpent was well.

However, when Lily enquired if everything was all right, Amaterasu shook her head.

"A boy came to me, a Sspeaker, and demanded that I should go into the cassstle and kill the mugglebornsss," she admitted, a tear leaking from her right eye. "I told him that you're my owner and that you cast a sspell on the school and groundsss to make sure that I can't harm anyone, but only when I threatened him to bite him did he leave. He wasss together with a girl and carrying a book."

 _'How strange,_ ' Lily thought. She discussed the matter with Minerva, Severus and Marlene; however, none of them knew anything about it.

"I can't imagine that there's anyone at Hogwarts who's a Parselmouth apart from you and your children," Severus replied, deep in thought.

' _At least nothing can happen, because Amaterasu only listens to Harry, David or myself and because of the spell,'_ Lily thought, feeling very much relieved. _'Nevertheless, it's strange.'_

Except for the extended family, no one at the school got to know about the matter, and nothing happened that would force Lily to inform anyone else let alone the headmaster.

HP

Fred and George Weasley observed with growing concern how their sister, who was just a first-year, spent her whole evenings writing into some kind of black book.

"It's just strange," Fred whispered to his twin.

"Should we enquire about it?" George gushed.

"No," Fred replied, letting out a deep sigh. "Don't think she'd tell us the truth. Somehow, I have a strange feeling about the matter."

George nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's true. I wished we were fly Animagi. It would be a brilliant way to spy on her."

Fred's eyes widened in delight. "That's it. Let's do some research as to how to become Animagi," he whispered, eagerly.

"Library?" George breathed, immediately affected by his brother's excitement.

Fred nodded, and the twins hurriedly left the tower, all concerns about their younger sister set aside for the moment.

It was a few days before the beginning of the Christmas holidays that they waited for Ginny to return to the common room in vain. Curfew came and went, and there was still no sign of their sister. Only now did they realise that their strange feelings had not betrayed them.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please let me know what you think. Any opinions or ideas are very welcome._


	23. Dobby

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing, char. death in this chpater!_

* * *

It was the Saturday evening before Christmas, and the quartet stepped into Gryffindor Manor right after dinner.

Everyone was fawning over the four babies. While Baby Annette was already four months old, Therese, Amelia's and Sirius' girl, Cian, the son of Alice and Frank, and Amelie, Marlene's and Severus' daughter had all been born during October.

"Is anyone going to help us put them to bed?" Amelia enquired, causing Niamh, Hermione, Susan and Aidan to swiftly follow the young mothers out of the Parlour.

"Harry, come with me to the lab," David invited him, and Harry curiously followed his brother into their father's Alchemy lab.

"I've got my own project now," David explained, showing him a red stone, which was simmering in a light green liquid.

"Is that…" Harry trailed off, staring at the stone in disbelief.

"That's the Philosopher's stone," David confirmed. "Not the original of course, but it's easy to reproduce if you know how. It can be used to gain immortality of course, which is not the point here, but it's able to heal all kinds of illnesses. The problem is that it has to be diluted in a potion to make a new potion once a month or the effects will be gone. So I wish to research for a stone, from which we can make a permanent potion as a permanent cure to specific illnesses. It's still a long way though," he added, letting out a deep sigh. "Dad and Niamh assigned me the project, but it's difficult…" He slowly trailed off.

 _'He's just amazing for a ten-year-old,'_ Harry thought, feeling totally stunned at his younger brother's research project.

"Care for a round of Wizard's Chess?" David suggested, once they returned to the Parlour, and Harry happily accepted.

 _'It's really quiet without the babies' crying,_ ' Harry thought, as he observed his younger brother take one of his pawns in amusement.

All of a sudden, however, the quiet was disturbed, when Minerva rushed into the room, seeming strangely agitated for the usual calm Scottish lioness.

"Sirius, do you have the Marauders Map?" she asked, urgently.

"What's wrong, Minnie, calm down," Sirius replied, as he calmly stepped over to the bookshelf, where they used to keep the map. "Here," he added, handing over the map, which was already activated.

"How do you search for a person?" Minerva asked, slightly impatiently. "I'm looking for Ginny Weasley."

Casting a spell at the map, Sirius shook his head. "She's not on the map I'm afraid," he informed the Gryffindor head.

"Are all rooms on the map?" David spoke up.

"All the teachers' offices?" Harry added, questioningly.

"No, they aren't," Remus stated, sighing.

"Could she be in detention with any of your colleagues?" Sirius suggested.

"Sorry David," Harry mumbled, "Check mate." He rose from his chair and announced, "I'll go and ask Hogwarts if she knows where Ginny is."

Together with Minerva, he stepped through the connecting door into the founders' quarters and addressed the castle.

"Hogwarts, do you by chance know where Ginny Weasley is? The redheaded first-year from Gryffindor?"

"Let me check," Hogwarts replied, calmly. She remained quiet for what seemed to be an eternity to Harry and Minerva, although no more than two minutes passed, before she spoke up in a grave voice.

"Miss Weasley is in the Room of Requirement," she informed them. "I don't think that everything's all right there though."

HP

Tom looked at the girl, who was lying on the floor, unmoving, next to his diary. ' _Thank Merlin she was stupid enough to write into my diary,_ ' he thought, gratefully. _'I don't know if she's already dead. Oh well, I don't really care. Maybe it's better if no one finds her too early though, considering that she knows too much.'_ Picking up the girl's wand, he cast a disillusion charm at the prone figure, before he slid the wand into his robe pocket.

He flexed his arms and stretched his legs, checking out his new, corporate body, in delight. _'Everything seems to be all right,_ ' he thought, contentedly. Deciding that he was ready to leave, he cast a disillusion charm at himself, pocketed the black book deep in his robe pocket and swiftly left the room, firmly closing the door behind himself.

 _'The main point right now is to get out of Hogwarts,'_ he thought, as he hurried through the corridors, glad that they were fairly empty, as most students were assembled in the Great Hall for dinner. _'Once I'm in Hogsmeade, I can make a plan where to go and what to do,_ ' he decided, letting out a deep sigh of relief, once he closed the heavy entrance door behind himself.

He walked down the way towards Hogsmeade, looking at the combined building of the Potions classroom and the apothecary in surprise. _'Since when is such a building here? It must belong to Hogwarts on this side and to Hogsmeade on the other,_ he realised. ' _That's interesting._ ' However, instead of further exploring his surroundings, he decided to head to Riddle Manor first. ' _Let's see if any older version of myself is currently living there,'_ he thought, hoping that at least Nagini would be there and able to tell him more about the current situation of the wizarding world, which he only knew from the stupid Weasley girl's babblings. ' _Off to a new life_ ,' he thought in determination.

HP

Two felines dashed from the founders' quarters towards the Room of Requirement. Back in his human form, Harry walked along the corridor three times, thinking, ' _I wish for the room, in which I can find Ginny Weasley._ '

"I just hope that Hogwarts will be able to show us the right room," he uttered, opening the door that appeared with trepidation.

To his surprise, the room was completely empty.

"Apparently not," he mumbled, letting out a deep sigh, as he stepped outside again.

"No, Harry, wait a moment," Minerva said, reaching for his arm to hold him back. "Maybe she's invisible."

 _'Why would she?'_ Harry wondered in surprise. He did not know the youngest Weasley girl well, as she had never done as much as speak to him except during the first-years' Potions classes, however, he somehow felt worried what might have happened to the girl to hide in the Room of Requirement.

He let out a gasp, when the prone figure of the Gryffindor first-year appeared under one of Minerva's spells.

"I don't know if she's alive at all," Minerva said in apparent shock and cast a spell to make the girl float in front of her. "As I'm not good at any kind of healing spells whatsoever, I'm going to take her to the hospital wing instead of losing time trying to figure out what's wrong."

Harry accompanied the professor to the hospital wing and opened the door for her, before he made his way to the second-year study room, assuming that his siblings had already returned from home by now.

When he quickly checked the Parlour of Gryffindor Manor for Minerva to possibly find out what was wrong with Ginny Weasley, the Gryffindor head had not come back yet.

HP

Only in the morning, the headmaster announced at breakfast that Ginny Weasley had tragically and mysteriously died within the castle.

"We do not know what happened," the headmaster continued. "Her body does not show any signs of possible influences from outside, so that we can only assume that she committed suicide. If anyone has noticed anything strange about Miss Weasley, please inform any of the teachers."

"We only know…"

"… that she was always writing into a black diary…"

"… Did you perhaps find that with her?" the Weasley twins spoke up in subdued voices.

"No, there was nothing," Minerva replied in a grave voice.

"My sister wouldn't commit suicide. Why would she?" Ronald Weasley suddenly roared from the Slytherin table. "I'm sure Potter did something to her to annul the betrothal contract between Ginny and him."

Harry rose from his chair, trying to keep his anger in grip. "There was no betrothal contract between your sister and myself, and I didn't even know her. I haven't spoken to her as much as once except for in the first-years' Potions class," he replied in an ice-cold voice.

"There was a contract," Dumbledore spoke up in his grandfatherly voice that felt so wrong to Harry.

"No, because my guardians cancelled the contract, as soon as you tried to file it in spite of not being my guardian," Harry replied, firmly.

"If there had been a contract, I'm sure that Harry would have tried to get to know her, and…" Susan spoke up.

"… and our brother is not a murderer," Neville completed what she was going to say.

"Mr. Weasley, one hundred points from Slytherin for your false accusation," Lily spoke up, grimly.

 _'Thanks Mum,_ ' Harry thought, glad that still no one knew about his relationship to the Professors Slytherin.

"Professors Slytherin and Snape, do you really believe that it's wise having Harry teach the first- and second-years?" Harry could hear Dumbledore ask his colleagues. "He doesn't seem mature enough."

Harry could not hear the responses, however, had no doubt about their content.

HP

Just like the previous year, the quartet accompanied their friends to the station, where they said good-bye to their classmates, before they headed into Hogsmeade.

They had just left the station, when an unknown house-elf popped up right in front of them.

"The Great Harry Potter," the elf addressed the boy, staring at him wide-eyed. "Dobby is very much honoured to meet the wonderful Harry Potter, saviour of the magical people and the elves."

"Hello Dobby," Harry replied, while the three others observed the scene with a combination of surprise and amusement. "What can I do for you, Dobby?"

Glancing around to make sure that they were alone, Dobby whispered in a fairly loud voice, "Harry Potter mustn't return to Hogwarts."

Harry stared at the elf in surprise. "Of course I'm going to go back to Hogwarts after Christmas. You might not know this, but I'm the owner of Hogwarts, and all my family and friends are there."

"Harry Potter can't go back to the school," Dobby insisted. "Bad things is happening at the school. One girl already dieds."

"Dobby?" Harry asked, suspiciously. "Do you know how Ginny Weasley died?"

Dobby shook his head. "Dobby cans not tells his master's secrets. Dobby already wanted to warn Harry Potter in the summer, but Dobby coulds not finds him. That's why Dobby sent the Bludger."

"That was you?" Harry blurted out, feeling surprise and anger at the same time, as he recalled how a Bludger had seemed to target him during the last Quidditch match. I had only been by pure luck that he had not been hit. "I thought the Bludger was acting strange."

"Dobby is sorry, Harry Potter," Dobby said, banging his head at a near lamppost.

"Stop doing that, Dobby," Neville ordered the elf.

"Dobby is a bad elf for coming to warn the great Harry Potter and his friends. Dobby needs to punish himself," Dobby replied, as he continued to bang his head.

"Who is your master, Dobby?" Susan spoke up, curiously.

"Ah, Dobby cans not tells," the elf replied, seemingly frightened. "Please keeps the great Harry Potter out of the school."

"No Dobby," Harry said in a firm voice, when a sudden thought crossed his mind. "Dobby, do you perhaps know something about a black book?"

Without as much as a response, Dobby snapped his fingers and was gone.

"I wonder who his master is," Susan said, pensively.

"Surely one of the Death Eaters," Neville spoke up.

"Maybe Severus knows," Harry added.

"Let's go by the apothecary and ask him then," Hermione suggested, and the friends decided on the slight detour to question their honorary uncle.

HP

Lily was in the apothecary and obviously happy to see them.

"Hi Mum, we'd like to speak to Severus," Harry greeted her. "Is he in the lab?"

Lily replied affirmatively and offered for the small group to take a seat in the side-room and have some tea, promising, "Severus will be by soon."

"Thank you, Mum," Susan replied, pleasantly, before she dragged the others with her to the side-room, where the quartet discussed the matter with Dobby, Ginny Weasley and the black book in detail, before Severus showed up.

"I believe that I've met Dobby before," the Potions Master replied, thoughtfully. "He must be the Malfoy's house-elf. He put himself into great danger to come to warn you though, especially as the Malfoys have never treated him well. I wonder what's happening."

HP

"Nagini," Tom hissed in delight upon seeing his familiar. In his memory, he had only bought the snake a couple of months earlier, when he had found her in a small shop for magical animals in Knockturn Alley, which sold the occasional dangerous species.

"Tom," Nagini hissed back in apparent recognition, eagerly listening to his story. "I'm glad to have you back, Masssster," she assured him, moving the lower part of her body in what he knew to be happiness.

"Nagini, I don't know much of what happened after my older sself made the diary. Pleazzze tell me everything," Tom demanded, as he made himself comfortable in the sparse living room.

During the following hours, Nagini told him everything that she knew about his older self, his life and his Death Eaters.

"I'm going to be different," Tom instantly decided upon hearing of his older self's actions. "I'm not going to be Lord Voldemort. Even if he fights for the right things, many people seem to not only fear but despise him. I'll take a different name and lead my own life. No one needss to know who I am. I jusst hope he won't have other meansss to come back."

"He hassss," Nagini informed him. "He'ss here in thiss house as well."

Tom stared at the large snake in shock. "He'ss only a spirit right now. Two of hiss Death Eatersss are raising him using a potion with my venom in it," Nagini explained.

"Where isss he?" Tom enquired.

"In the atrium."

"Isss he coherent and able to talk?" Tom asked, nodding thoughtfully, when Nagini replied affirmatively. "Perhapsss it'ss better if he doessn't know about me," he decided in determination. "Nagini, would you be willing to come with me?" he asked, tentatively.

"I'm sorry, Massster," Nagini replied, letting out a sound similar to a sigh. "I can't abandon him. He needsss me for his potion. But I wish to have nesstlingss. Can you get me a partner so I can have nessstlingsss?"

"Where can we meet without him knowing about me, and will you keep my ssecret?" Tom enquired.

"The old Gaunt houssse. Be careful though. He hasss put trapsss in it," Nagini hissed, promising, "I shall keep your ssecret."

"Thanksss," Tom replied, before he stood from the sofa and proceeded to search the house if there was anything useful to take with him.

HP

While the atmosphere in the castle had been very subdued before the Christmas holidays due to the unexplained death of a first-year Gryffindor girl, everyone returned from the holidays in a good mood.

Harry was still teaching the first- and second-year Potions classes, and he was looking forward to it, as it was much fun, and the students seemed to respect him, even if he was not older than them.

When the quartet walked down the main staircase towards the Great Hall for dinner on the third day of classes, the entrance hall was full of students, and there was no getting through.

"What happened?" Hermione enquired, when a shriek could be heard from downstairs.

"What happened to me, and who took my diary?" a young, female voice screeched, causing Harry and Susan to exchange a confused look.

"Ginnykins…"

"…Is that you?"

The Weasley twins' voices could be heard from the entrance hall, causing a multiple gasp from the students gathered.

"Yes, I'm baaack!" the voice screeched again, instantly reminding Harry of Molly Weasley's Howler, which Ron had received on his first day at Hogwarts.

' _Like her mother_ ,' he thought. ' _I wonder what happened to Ginny though. Maybe she'll be able to tell us.'_

Suddenly, Severus' voice cut through the air. "Everyone, proceed to the Great Hall immediately."

As usual, all students instantly obeyed the strict professor's order. However, Harry lingered back. Even if he barely knew the girl, he could not forget how he had found her together with Minerva plus he was keeping a good relationship to the Weasley twins.

Completely shocked, he realised that the girl had not become alive again by some means but had returned as a ghost.

"Ginnykins…"

"… What happened to you?" the twins enquired.

"I don't know," Ginny replied, before she looked at Harry, apparently startled, and blushed, before she swept away through the nearest corridor.

 _'I didn't know that ghosts could blush,_ ' Harry thought, his eyes widening, when the twins gave him strange looks.

"I'm sorry," he apologised in confusion. "Did she leave because of me? I swear I didn't…"

"Of course you didn't…"

"… but our sister…"

"… has always had a crush on you," the twins explained, back to their usual singsong, of which Harry had noticed that they had almost given it up after their sister's death.

HP

Tom was very happy with himself. He had cleared the Gaunt house of all the traps that his older self had placed there, although he had the impression that someone had beat him to it, as there were only minor traps remaining, and he could not imagine that his older self had contented himself with these.

In the old Riddle house, he had found his older self's OWL and NEWT certificates and taken both of them.

He had always been a good student. His best subject, apart from Defence Against the Dark Arts, had been Charms. Still it had been difficult, and he had struggled for about a week, however, he had finally managed to charm his birth certificate with the Ministry of Magic to show his new name, Tamhas Gaunt, and his new birth date in 1974. Name and date on the certificates were easily changed and sent to the file within the ministry.

Glancing at the diary, he thought, _'I really don't need this anymore, considering that it's just a normal book now.'_ He pondered what to do with it for a while, before he decided, _'I'm going to send it to Harry Potter and have him return it to the stupid girl if she's alive._ '

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Okay, from the lack of reviews, I know that you did not like the previous chapter. I do not know why though. Please be so kind and tell me what you think about this chapter and your expectations for this story. Any opinions or ideas are very welcome._


	24. Ghosts

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

 ** _A.N: Please make sure that you have read the previous chapter, as I only posted it the day before yesterday!_**

* * *

Ghost Ginny was often seen to roam the corridors together with Myrtle.

"How strange," Harry whispered to his siblings. "I've never seen Myrtle anywhere except for the bathroom on the second floor."

"They seem to have become friends," Susan replied, her lips stretched to a sad smile.

"Ms. Weasley, may we ask you some questions?" Minerva, who had followed the quartet, enquired.

Seeing the ghost nod, she asked, "Do you know what happened to you?"

Ginny shook her head. "No Professor. I know I was writing into my diary, and then I knew no more," she admitted, only adding as an afterthought, "He was so nice. I really miss him."

"Who?" Hermione spoke up in apparent bewilderment.

"Tom," Ginny replied. "Tom Riddle. He was in my diary, and he was very knowledgeable. You'd have liked him. He knew everything and could explain things to me. I wonder where my diary is."

"Tom Riddle?" Minerva breathed, her eyes widening in apparent horror. "He's whom you all know as Lord Voldemort."

"No, that's impossible," Ginny protested. "He's a very nice boy."

"Miss Weasley, I'm certain," Minerva replied, her mouth stretched to a thin line. "I happened to attend Hogwarts together with him."

"Ginny," Harry carefully addressed the girl. "How did you know about the Room of Requirement?"

"The Room of Requirement?" Ginny repeated in obvious confusion. "What's that?"

"Ms. Weasley," Minerva said, letting out a deep sigh. "Would you please join me in the headmaster's office? I believe that there's something very strange."

"All right, but can we please take the twins with us?" Ginny agreed.

"I'll send them," Harry promised, calmly, knowing that Minerva would tell them everything later on.

"Thank you, Harry, and please also send Professor Dumbledore to his office if he's already in the Great Hall," Minerva replied and proceeded to head upstairs, closely followed by the two ghosts.

' _The diary must have been a Horcrux_ ,' Harry thought, ' _one of the objects that Regulus told us about. Too bad that he wasn't able to destroy it on time. It would have saved Ginny's life_.'

HP

The Vulture descended onto the Ravenclaw table letting a black book fall into Harry's lap. A small note was attached to it. _'Give this back to Ginny. She loved it so much.'_

Harry stared at the book in shock, before he quickly hid it in his school bag for further examination at a later time.

As soon as dinner was over later the same day, the quartet hurried home and presented the book to Regulus, who closely inspected it, only to confirm that it was not a Horcrux.

"At least not anymore," he said, pensively.

"Apparently Ginny wrote into it, and a guy named Tom Riddle replied," Hermione explained, eagerly.

"Tom Riddle is Voldemort," Minerva clarified for what seemed to be the umpteenth time.

Regulus scribbled something into the book, however, there was no response.

"Apparently," he said, slowly, "the Horcrux has been used. If it was Voldemort's Horcrux, he's now back and might even have gained a corporeal figure. He must be back."

"Apparently, it was Lucius Malfoy, who gave the book to Ginny Weasley," Harry said, grimly. "He's responsible for her death and the return of Voldemort. There was a note with the book stating that I should return it to Ginny, but I think I'm going to keep it and give it back to Mr. Malfoy at the next opportunity."

"He should be in the headmaster's office right now," Godric spoke up from the portrait. "Due to Ms. Weasley's death, Professor Dumbledore is under investigation from the board of Governors."

Harry swiftly took the book from Regulus' grasp. "I'm going to see him," he declared, before he transformed into his phoenix form and flashed right in front of the gargoyle, where he changed back, thanking the gargoyle, when it opened for him without further ado.

 _'It has its advantages to be the owner of the school,_ ' he thought, inwardly chuckling, as he approached the office. Only then did he realise, astonished, that Neville had followed him.

"I won't let you meet that idiot just by yourself," his brother whispered, causing Harry to cast him a grateful smile.

Together, the two second-years entered the headmaster's office, realising that Dumbledore was, indeed, engrossed in a conversation with Lucius Malfoy.

To their surprise, Dobby was standing right behind the blonde wizard, and Harry inwardly grinned.

While they were waiting for the older wizards to finish their conversation, Harry feverishly tried to think of a plan for Dobby, when Neville hurriedly handed him something.

 _'A sock?'_ Harry wondered, giving his brother a questioning look.

"Put it inside," Neville whispered, causing Harry to nod in understanding.

He quickly buried the sock in the book, just before Mr. Malfoy looked at them.

"This is the headmaster's office and not a place for children to play," he said, arrogantly.

"I have something that belongs to you, Mr. Malfoy," Harry said in a firm voice, handing the book to the evil wizard, who merely glared at him and thrust the book at his house-elf.

"Our second point is that we haven't come to play as you worded it," Harry continued, hoping that he sounded firmer than he was, "but as the owner of Hogwarts, I wish to dissolve the board of Governors. It is not needed anymore."

"Rubbish," Malfoy bellowed.

However, his further response remained unheard, as Dobby wailed, "Master gives Dobby a sock! Dobby is free!"

"Mr. Malfoy, as the Board of Governors has been dissolved by Hogwarts' owner," Dumbledore spoke up, calmly, "I believe that there's no need for you to remain in my office any longer."

Malfoy looked from Harry to the headmaster. "Dumbledore," he roared, "you don't believe that a second-year would be able to dissolve the Board of Governors now, do you?"

"Harry Potter is the owner of Hogwarts and as such able to do so," Godric spoke up from his portrait. "And now see to it that you leave the school, you arrogant prick."

"You'll hear from me," Malfoy threatened, as he strode to the door without as much as a further glance at anyone."

As soon as the door closed behind the evil wizard, Dobby was cowering at Harry's feet.

"Thank you so much, Great Harry Potter, for freeing Dobby," he squealed in apparent delight.

"It was Neville's idea," Harry admitted, grinning. "I'm glad that it worked out though."

"Will the Great Harry Potter become Dobby's master now?" Dobby asked, pleadingly.

"If that's what you wish," Harry agreed. "Are you sure that you don't want to remain a free elf?"

"Dobby would love to be free and be paid for work," Dobby thought aloud, "but Dobby would also like to work for the great Harry Potter."

"All right, Dobby. You can work for me as a free elf. We'll discuss your payment later on," Harry agreed, feeling very much amused at the strange elf's antics. "However, there's one condition," he added, causing Dobby to cast him a questioning look.

"Don't send any more Bludgers after me."

"Ah, Dobby won'ts," the small elf promised, wide-eyed.

"Harry," Dumbledore spoke up, using his grandfatherly voice, which Harry despised so much, "do you believe that it was wise to return the book to Mr. Malfoy?"

"Yes sir," Harry confirmed. "It's not a Horcrux anymore and so not only completely harmless but also totally useless."

"How do you know about Horcruxes?" Dumbledore asked, clearly shocked at the revelation.

"Considering that we had one at the school and a student was killed, because we were too ignorant to prevent it, it's important to know about them," Harry replied in a no-nonsense voice. "May we please be excused?"

"Yes," Dumbledore agreed. "Thanks for abolishing the Board of Governors, my boy."

Giving the old wizard a slight bow, Harry left the office with Neville and Dobby in tow.

 _'I'm not your boy, old man,_ ' he thought, indignantly.

HP

A visit to Diagon Alley, where he presented himself to the goblins as the long-lost son of the Gaunt family, not caring if they believed him, allowed him to access the Gaunt vault. Of course, he did not know if it was the only vault, even if the goblin said so, but it held enough gold for him to get over some time. _'I don't know why they give me these strange looks,'_ he thought, ' _my mother was a Gaunt, so it's my birth right to inherit from the Gaunts.'_

Back in the alley, he headed to an optician in Knockturn Alley, where he asked for a spell to be applied to his eyes to have his eye colour changed to dark green. _'No one should be able to recognise me now,'_ he thought, contentedly.

Just around the corner was the shop, where he had bought Nagini, and – again – he was lucky and found a similar, male serpent at the same shop.

"Would you like to become my familiar?" he hissed to the snake that stared at him, seemingly pleased.

"Yesss, I'd like zzzat," came the hissed response. "I haven't met any Ssspeaker before."

Tom swiftly bonded to his new pet and called him Mahoni.

Nagini was extremely delighted, when she met Mahoni, and the two serpents immediately became good friends.

From his comfortable seat on the sofa in the living room, Tom observed the two snakes interact with each other.

 _'Now I only need a good position at the Ministry of Magic, and then I can think about how to get my revenge on the Slytherin family,_ ' Tom thought, hatefully. _'They took what should have rightfully been mine.'_

HP

The second half of the quartet's second year passed relatively uneventfully – except for the fact that Ghost Ginny and Ghost Myrtle apparently became inseparable and the two witches spent most of their time playing pranks on Peeves.

"Thank Merlin they're not targeting the students," Harry said to his siblings, when they observed the two female ghosts chase Peeves down to the dungeons.

"That's true; they're almost worse than Peeves himself," Susan added, grinning.

"We could always ask the Bloody Baron to keep them in check," Daphne offered, smirking, as they entered the second-year study room.

"Ah, just let them have some fun," Hermione spoke up. "Poor Ginny."

However, when Peeves saw fit to take off all the door handles from all wash rooms outside the four houses, the girls apparently decided to punish him appropriately. During the following night, Peeves' howling could be heard all over the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw dormitories.

"I wonder what that noise is," Susan said to Hermione, feeling thoroughly annoyed.

"I've no idea," Hermione replied, equally unable to sleep. "Shall we spend the night in the founders' quarters?" she suggested, and Susan immediately agreed.

The two girls chose one of the double bedrooms in the founders' quarters, where they spent a peaceful, quiet night, undisturbed by any ghost's howling.

"What noise?" Harry enquired, when the girls complained to him and Neville in the morning. Exchanging a confused look with Neville, the boys merely shrugged.

"That was Peeves…"

"… He was stuck in a wall," the twins informed them, when they met in the entrance hall on their way to breakfast.

"Ginny and Myrtle magically stopped him…"

"… the instant he travelled through a wall…"

"so he was stuck inside the wall…"

"… the whole night."

Harry could not help chuckling. "Please tell them well done if you meet them," he replied, laughing even more, causing the girls to shake their heads in apparent annoyance.

"That was loud," Susan complained, indignantly.

HP

One day, Hermione let out a deep sigh and asked, sounding thoroughly annoyed, "What electives are you going to take next year?"

The quartet was occupying a table together with Daphne, Tracey and Draco as usual, and everyone at their table began to laugh upon Hermione's troubled expression.

Harry was the first to get a grip on himself and replied, "I'm probably going to take Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. Care of Magical Creatures would be nice as well, but since we can only take two…" He slowly trailed off.

"Me too," Susan added.

"Aidan, my younger brother," Neville explained to the Slytherins, "has been assisting Hagrid for a while now. He said it was very interesting."

"Are you going to take it then?" Harry enquired.

"No, I'm just going to join you in whatever class," Neville replied, grinning.

"I'm going to take the same classes," Daphne spoke up, and Tracey and Draco nodded their agreement.

"I'd love to take them all," Hermione muttered, however, in the end of the discussion, everyone including the eager muggleborn agreed on the same subjects.

"Next year, we're also going to be allowed to participate in the Hogsmeade visits," Daphne reminded the others, seemingly thrilled at the idea.

"Oh, that's going to be so much fun," Susan agreed.

"I can't wait," Hermione added, grinning in apparent anticipation.

HP

It was during the leaving feast that Professor Trelawney uttered what could be assumed to be a prophecy in front of the whole school.

"It will happen tonight. The Dark Lord needs more assistance to come back in full glory. His servant has been restrained for a decade. Tonight, before midnight... the servant will break free and seek his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid. Tonight... before midnight... the servant... will break free... to rejoin... his master..."

"Is that about Peter Pettigrew?" Lily whispered to Minerva, who was sitting on her left side at the high table.

"Restrained for a decade," Minerva repeated, pensively. "Well, Pettigrew has been in Azkaban for more than eleven and a half years. That might be. We should alert Amelia. Maybe she can check with the prison." Without further ado, she sent a Patronus each to Amelia and Regulus, asking them to see to it that Azkaban was properly guarded.

HP

Neither the Department of Magical Law Enforcement nor the Unspeakables, however, were able to prevent Peter Pettigrew from escaping from Azkaban.

"Perhaps he was able to escape in his rat form," Sirius assumed. "When I was still working as an Auror and we had to occasionally visit Azkaban, I always felt much better in my dog form than as a human. I believe that animals aren't that much affected by the Dementors."

The newspapers were full with images of Peter Pettigrew, however, the criminal managed to remain unrecognised during the whole summer. By the time the new school year was about to begin, he still had to be found.

HP

In the evening of the thirty-first of August, the Sorting Hat suddenly popped up in the Parlour of Gryffindor Manor.

"I'm sorry, but would you mind me staying here until the Sorting tomorrow?" Sopho spoke up, when everyone looked at him in clear expectation.

"Of course Sopho, you're always welcome here," Lily was the first to speak up, and everyone else nodded, affirmatively.

"Sopho," Harry addressed the Hat in surprise. "I'm glad to have you here, but what happened?" he asked, curiously.

"Ah," the Hat replied in apparent annoyance, "these two silly ghosts of school girls, they're driving me nuts. This morning, they made Peeves steal me from the headmaster's office and take me into a bathroom, where he tried to drown me. These girls make Peeves do all kind of nonsense, because he can grip things, while they can't. And if he doesn't comply, they cast all possible kinds of spells at him. They're worse than the Weasley twins, really."

Everyone chuckled at the Hat's explanation. However, Harry asked in a soft voice, "Sopho, what can I do to help you? Is the headmaster not doing anything?"

Sopho let out a sound resembling a snort. "The old grumpy one would rather award house-points for a prank than scold anyone. The only one who would be able to get these ghosts into grip is the Bloody Baron. It's just that I can't simply go and speak with him. You know already that I'm charmed to only speak with the heirs of the founders and the headmasters."

"Sopho, I'll go and speak with the Bloody Baron," Severus spoke up. "He usually listens to me."

"If not, I'll ask Hogwarts for help," Harry added, reassuringly.

"Thank you both very much," Sopho replied, sincerely. "I don't mind pranks being played in the school, but I'm a magical artefact and do not wish to become victim of a prank."

A moment later, Spirit appeared with the perch, which they had previously used for Sopho to sit on during Harry's birthday party.

The Hat profusely thanked the elf, before he lowered himself onto the perch.

"I'd appreciate it if anyone would be so kind as to wake me up on time for the Sorting tomorrow," he uttered, before he went to sleep.

HP

However, the Hat should not have to worry about oversleeping. First thing in the morning, one-year-old Annette toddled into the Parlour. Harry and Susan, who were quietly sitting in a corner discussing the new school year, observed in amusement how she noticed the Hat.

Wide-eyed, she stood in front of him, closely examining him.

"That's Sopho, the Sorting Hat," Niamh, who had followed the baby to take care of her if necessary, explained.

"Oh!" Annette exclaimed with apparent interest. With Niamh's assistance, she scrambled up onto the sofa and, like she had seen Lily and Harry do before, summoned the Hat.

"Sopho! Come speak wif me," she instructed the Hat, who good-naturedly obeyed and hovered in front of the little girl.

"Wow, she's really getting good at speaking," Harry whispered to Susan, who nodded, smiling broadly at their younger sisters.

"No," Annette said, clearly impatiently. Reaching out for the Hat, she pulled him close and put him onto her head. "Sowt me!" she demanded in a no-nonsense voice.

Sopho remained quiet for a moment, before he blurted out, "Oh Merlin." With that, he swiftly moved back to his perch, ignoring the little girl's wailing.

Harry and Susan exchanged a confused look, while Niamh did her best to calm down her younger sister.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and your expectations for this story. Any opinions or ideas are very welcome._


	25. Third Year

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

Before the oldest trio left for their third Hogwarts year, Lily and Severus took Harry aside.

"We've once again fought a small fight with the headmaster about the Potions classes. Needless to say that we won," Severus informed him, smirking. "You're once again allowed to teach the first- and second-years. You could also teach the third- and fourth-years, so that your mother only had to teach the OWL class, but instead, I want you to study for the mastery during your free time," Severus told him in a firm voice, and Harry happily agreed.

 _'Even if I'm not sure if I want to spend my whole life working as a Potions Master, it won't hurt to have the mastery_ ,' he thought, feeling very grateful towards his mother and Severus.

The quartet had spoken with Minerva about the elective subjects and – considering how advanced all four of them were in the core subjects – had received permission to take three electives.

"That's great," Harry blurted out, happily. "We really want to take Care of Magical Creatures besides Arithmancy and Ancient Runes."

"Maybe it would be the best to not alert your classmates to the fact that you're taking three electives," Minerva cautioned them.

"We'll keep it to ourselves," Neville promised, smiling.

"It won't be easy to keep it from Daphne, Tracey and Draco though," Susan added, pensively. "Is there any way that they could take Care of Magical Creatures together with us?"

"We always study together," Hermione explained, giving the deputy headmistress a pleading look.

"All three of them have good grades," Minerva mused aloud. "Please ask them if that's what they want. If so, they have my approval, provided that they keep the matter between the seven of you."

Needless to say that their Slytherin friends immediately agreed to the deal.

HP

Like at the beginning of the previous year, the quartet took care of the new first-years. They guided them from one class to the next, showed them to the library and the study room and explained everything that the eleven-year-olds needed to know about Hogwarts.

"Next year, Niamh, David and Aidan are going to be first-years," Susan gushed, when the quartet returned to their own study-room one evening.

"We're going to have so much fun," Hermione added, chuckling in apparent anticipation.

 _'Yes, it's going to be great having them here,'_ Harry thought, feeling extremely happy at the idea.

HP

Like during the previous school years, the quartet spent part of the weekends at home.

During the first weekend after the beginning of their third year, Severus told them, "Today, I overheard Ronald Weasley tell Draco Malfoy that he was happy to finally be taught Potions by an adult again."

Lily let out a scoff. "That must have been before I awarded him zero points and a detention with Filch for making his cauldron explode," she replied, shaking her head in apparent annoyance.

"He's a complete jerk," Susan commented, letting out a deep sigh.

"… and he dislikes Harry and in extension us with a passion," Neville added.

"… in spite of not being good in any subject," Hermione emphasized, rolling her eyes at the thought of their redheaded classmate.

HP

However, this should not be the only event, which made everyone talk about Ronald Weasley.

On Monday afternoon, the third-years had their first Care of Magical Creatures class. The quartet was not surprised, when Aidan was there, assisting the new professor, Hagrid, with his class.

 _'My younger brother, how cool is that?'_ Neville thought, happily, when the whole class observed how Aidan bowed in front of the hippogriff and showed them how to tend to the large animal.

The whole class followed Aidan's example and gently greeted the creature – except for Ronald Weasley.

"You're probably not dangerous at all, you big monster," he hissed, as he approached the animal completely ignoring the younger wizard's advice.

No one was fast enough to go between Ronald and Buckbean, the hippogriff, and could prevent the insulted animal from hurting the boy.

"My arm," Ronald hissed, glaring at the creature, who was just being led away by Aidan.

"Professor," Harry addressed Hagrid, "I'm going to take Ronald to the hospital wing."

"Grab my tail feathers," he instructed his classmate, before he transformed into his phoenix form, noticing in relief that Susan grabbed a feather and firmly held on to an unwilling Ronald, so that he could flash them right to Madam Pomfrey's domain.

HP

A few weeks later, the first Hogsmeade visit of the school year was scheduled. On Friday evening at dinner, Harry suddenly received a message from the headmaster that he wished to see him in his office.

"I wonder what that's about," he said to his siblings, questioningly.

"It can't be good," Susan decided.

"Go and ask Minerva to accompany you," Hermione suggested, causing Neville to nod his agreement.

"Do that," he advised Harry. "Or your mum."

 _'Minerva might be better, considering that Dumbledore doesn't know that Mum is my mother,_ ' Harry thought. As soon as the meal was over and the headmaster left the Great Hall, he headed to the high table and informed his mother, Minerva and Severus, who all agreed that Minerva would be the best to accompany him.

HP

"My boy," Dumbledore greeted Harry, who merely rolled his eyes before replying.

"Headmaster."

"No thank you, sir," he refused the offered lemon drop and took a seat next to Minerva.

"As you might have heard, Peter Pettigrew has escaped Azkaban," Dumbledore began to speak. "He was the dark wizard who betrayed your parents and gave them out to Voldemort. I don't know if you've heard about him?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied, feeling thoroughly annoyed at the old wizard. ' _Why does he want to speak with me about things? That was twelve years ago, during which he did not do anything good but only tried to manipulate me, when I was small?_ '

"Many people believe that he escaped to finish what he begun on that night," Dumbledore continued, "which is to get rid of you for Voldemort."

Harry merely shrugged, feeling unimpressed by the revelation.

"Harry, my boy, you're in great danger," the headmaster implored. "Therefore, I believe that it would be better if you did not participate into the Hogsmeade visits but remained in the castle."

"No sir," Harry contradicted. "I won't remain at Hogwarts but will go to Hogsmeade together with my siblings. If Pettigrew had wanted to get to me, he'd have had plenty of opportunities during the summer holidays, but he didn't. If that's all," he ended his tirade and crossed the room, only to wait for permission to leave as he stood in front of the door.

"Mr. Potter, you must not leave Hogwarts, as long as you're a student here," Dumbledore instructed him in a firm voice.

"Yes sir," Harry replied, obediently, considering that it would be safer for him to go to the village if the headmaster assumed that he was in his common room.

HP

"What did he want?" Susan enquired, when Harry joined them in the study room.

"Forbid me to go to Hogsmeade, because Pettigrew could come and kill me," Harry informed her, causing Draco to snort.

"We're all going to be with you, and I don't think Pettigrew stands a chance against the seven of us," he replied in a firm voice.

"Exactly," Neville added.

HP

When the seven third-years roamed Hogsmeade as a group, the small town was swamped with Aurors.

As the quartet had been able to spend much time in Hogsmeade during the summer, the event was not nearly as exciting for them as it was for their classmates; therefore, they decided to leave the place earlier and instead spend some quality time at home.

"Pettigrew did not show up," Amelia confirmed later in the afternoon, when she returned from work.

"That reminds me of something though. I'd like to ask the four of you a favour," Regulus addressed the quartet. "I'm looking for a Horcrux at Hogwarts, which I believe to be Rowena's diadem."

"What?" Rowena blurted out from the portrait, seeming horrified at the idea.

"I'm afraid so, yes," Regulus confirmed.

"Perhaps it's in the Room of Requirement," Harry wondered, and the others nodded, eagerly.

"Regulus, let's go there and look for it early in the morning, when everyone else is still asleep," Harry suggested, questioningly.

Fortunately, they were lucky and found the diadem, which indeed turned out to be another Horcrux. Regulus and Harry took it to Amaterasu, who happily destroyed the evil part with one of her fangs.

"That was the last of the Horcruxes apart from Nagini, his pet snake," Regulus informed Harry, when they returned to the founders' quarters, where the others were already waiting for them.

"Is it still usable?" Hermione enquired with obvious eagerness.

"Probably yes," Regulus replied, shrugging, before he cast a series of spells at the artefact. "There's no residue of dark magic left," he confirmed, nodding contentedly, as he handed the diadem over to the excited third-year.

HP

To Harry's relief, the Weasleys were reasonable enough to not blame Hagrid for what had happened during the class but believed his classmates how Ronald had willingly provoked the animal in spite of the carefulness that everyone else had displayed.

Harry and his siblings thoroughly enjoyed themselves with their elective classes. While the knew most of the things they were told in the core classes, no one had taught them Arithmancy before, and Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures were extremely interesting. Especially for the quartet, the latter was enlightening, as it gave them ideas into what kind of magical animal they could transform out of their chameguise forms.

Too soon for their liking, Christmas approached, and school let out for two weeks.

HP

"Harry," Regulus addressed him one day between Christmas and the new year, "could you perhaps have a look at my Dark Mark? It is almost faded, but it's still there, and as it's a snake, which has always been moving when it was active, I thought that maybe you could try to somehow change it into something else." He gave his surrogate nephew a questioning look.

"Of course," Harry replied, uncertainly. He hesitantly looked at the Dark Mark, which was more grey than really dark. "Hello," he hissed at the mark, "isss something zzzere?"

"I'm sssleeping. Don't disssturb me." Harry stared at the mark, intently, surprised that it had replied at all, even if he could not see any snake.

"Pleazze leave thisss arm. You're not wanted here anymore," he hissed back.

"I'm waiting for my massster to come back," the snake informed him, still sounding sleepy.

"He won't come back, and now leave," Harry replied. "I am your massster."

A moment later, he could see how the spot on Regulus' arm became as blank as the rest of the arm.

"It's gone," Regulus blurted out in apparent delight.

"Harry," Severus spoke up, and Harry noticed a slight pink touch to the Potions Master's usual pale face.

"Show me your arm," he demanded and repeated the process of chasing away the Dark Mark.

HP

During Easter, the quartet officially spent the whole weekend at Gryffindor Manor. Alice had informed Professor Flitwick, and the Ravenclaw head, who was barely able to deny his four secretly favourite students anything, let alone a weekend at home on a special occasion, had immediately agreed.

Harry observed little Annette in amazement. Together with her three surrogate siblings, the twenty-month-old was running around the manor like a whirlwind, chatting the whole day. Usually, when the oldest quartet made it home after assisting their respective professors and studying together with their classmates, the youngest children were already in bed, so that he had not seen much of them since about Christmas.

"Were we as wild as the small ones?" he asked his mother in disbelief, causing the adults to laugh.

"Definitely not," Susan gushed, letting out a deep sigh, as she observed how Niamh tried to prevent the youngest boys from pulling books out of the bookshelf in vain.

"Oh yes, you were," Amelia reassured them, rolling her eyes at her niece.

"So far, the younger trio has been here and helped us take care of the baby quartet," Alice spoke up, sighing. "Remus and I are going to have all hands full, when Niamh, David and Aidan are going to go to Hogwarts in just over four months' time. Annette is sticking to David almost all day, provided that he's not assisting James, while Niamh usually takes care of the boys, and Aidan looks after Therese," she explained, looking fondly at the three groups of children.

"Anni an Debi go Hogwawts wif Hawwy," little Annette informed Harry, giving him a broad smile, as she clambered onto David's lap.

"David is going to come to Hogwarts soon," Harry confirmed, "however, you'll have to wait for a couple of years."

Annette shook her head. "No," she contradicted in a firm voice, "Anni go, too."

"Perhaps we could take her and one of the others with us to class, so that you don't have to look after all of them at the same time, especially when Lily and Marlene are at Hogwarts the whole day," Hermione suggested, causing the adults to stare at her, wide-eyed.

"The idea is not bad," Marlene was the first to agree, "provided that our colleagues don't mind having one or two little ones around."

"We'll take care of them," Susan confirmed, smiling.

"I can take Anni," David offered, grinning at the small girl, who clearly was his favourite amongst his younger siblings.

"We'll see," Lily decided. "I'll talk with our colleagues about the matter."

HP

"The baby quartet is so cute," Hermine moaned, when they returned back to Ravenclaw tower on Sunday evening. "I wished my parents would be able to have another child, too."

"Are seven younger siblings not enough?" Susan asked, incredulously, recalling how Aidan had pestered Hermione with questions about Hogwarts the whole afternoon."

"Well, yes, but still," Hermione replied, smiling. _'I'm glad they look at me like an older sister and not like a crazy aunt who's a bookworm,_ ' she thought, feeling extremely happy at the idea.

"I can't wait for them to come to Hogwarts," Harry spoke up. "We're going to have so much fun showing them all the good spots."

"Mum said Anni seems to be able to see people's auras and their magic or something," Susan spoke up, pensively. "She said she seems to somehow recognise people by their magic."

"Really?" Neville asked, incredulously.

"How is that possible though?" Hermione enquired, eagerly. "That sounds extremely interesting. I think I'll check the library for some information about it."

"You could ask the founders," Harry suggested. "Maybe it's a family trait."

"I'll do that first thing in the morning," Hermione confirmed, happily, before she said good night to the boys.

HP

Unfortunately, Hogwarts was not able to enlighten the children.

"I can't say anything about the girl, as I haven't been introduced to her yet," the castle told the quartet with apparent regret, only to add, "However, according to Sopho, she is a very special little witch. He told me that she's the next Mugwump after Dumbledore."

"Mugwump?" Susan enquired.

"The Mugwump is the most powerful wizard or witch in the world," Godric enlightened her. "He or she also occupies the position of the head of the International Confederation of Wizards. I held that position once. Dumbledore is about the tenth after myself."

 _'Anni?'_ Harry thought, horrified. _'I hope Sopho is wrong here and Anni will be able to just lead a normal, happy life. Even I have much too much publicity just because everyone assumes me to be the boy who lived, but being the Mugwump must be a horrible fate for a young witch. Her magic has always been very strong indeed though.'_

HP

Niamh, David and Aidan could not wait for the summer to come, so that they would be allowed to go to Hogwarts. Moreover, James, Severus and Sirius had promised that they could become Animagi during the summer before their first Hogwarts year, and they had already made up their minds about their forms.

One day, David pestered his father, while he was assisting in the Alchemy lab behind the shop, "Dad, can we spend the weekend in the founders' quarters? We want the others to show us more of the castle. Mione promised Aidan to show us the library."

Rolling his eyes, impatiently, as he was trying to finish an experiment before having to teach the last morning class, James replied, "Please go and ask your mother. If she doesn't mind, you may."

"Thanks Dad," David shouted and quickly left the shop, dashing over to the apothecary.

HP

"David," Lily greeted her son in surprise, as her red-headed son rarely ever set a foot into the apothecary. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," David replied in apparent delight, before he voiced a question, of which Lily was certain that her husband had not been willing to argue about it.

"It's just a matter of a few months before you'll be able to spend much time at Hogwarts," she tried to soothe her son, just when a young man entered the apothecary.

Lily could not recall having met him before. He appeared to just be out of Hogwarts, considering how young he was. _'Dark green eyes and black hair. I'm sure that he wasn't a Hogwarts student though,_ ' she thought. She stared at the man in surprise, when he did not even bother to return her greeting, but stepped right over to David without further ado, grabbed his left arm and apparated away with her son in tow.

Lily could only stare at the empty spot in shock.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and your expectations for this story. Any opinions or ideas are very welcome._


	26. Desmond Gaunt

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

 _'_ _'Who's that, and where is he taking me?'_ David wondered, horrified, when he felt the movement of the apparition subside.

"Welcome to the Gaunt house," the man, who had abducted him, greeted him. "From now on, this is going to be your home, and I'm going to be your father," he explained, causing David to protest in horror.

"No, you're not. Take me back to my parents immediately," he shouted, barely noticing that the man pointed his wand at him and hissed, "Obliviate."

HP

Lily immediately sent a Patronus to Amelia, Regulus, Minerva, Alice and Dumbledore, before she left the apothecary, running over to her husband's shop in horror.

"James, someone came and took David," she shouted, before she succumbed to her grief and began to cry. "It was like in my visions," she sobbed. "My baby!"

"Have you contacted the Aurors?" James asked, urgently, before he ushered Lily into the side-room and gently helped her into a seat.

"Yes," Lily replied, miserably.

"I'm going to send a Patronus to Harry," James announced and produced a silvery stag. "Tell Harry that David has been abducted and ask him if he can reach him in his phoenix form," he instructed the Patronus that left without further ado.

HP

The quartet was just sitting in their Charms class, when James' Patronus arrived and revealed the message to Harry.

Susan, who was sitting right behind her brother and able to hear Prong's message, immediately rose from her chair. "I'm sorry, Professor," she addressed Professor Flitwick, "we have a family emergency and need to return home immediately. Our younger brother has been abducted."

Not even waiting for the teacher's approval, the quartet already dashed out of the classroom.

"Phoenixes," Harry muttered an instant before four phoenixes flashed away from the corridor – only to arrive back at the same spot a moment later.

"He must be behind some kind of wards," Neville was the first to speak. "What exactly happened?"

"I've no idea," Harry replied, terrified. "Let's go home."

HP

When David's mind returned to consciousness, he felt strangely confused. He found himself lying on a half-way comfortable sofa, and a young man with black hair and dark green eyes was sitting in a chair opposite of him. "Hello," he uttered, attracting the attention of the man.

"Hello Desmond," the man addressed him. "Did you have a nice nap?"

"Yes sir," David replied in confusion. "I'm sorry, sir, but who are you and where are we?" he enquired.

"I'm your father Tom Gaunt, and you're Desmond Gaunt. This is the living room of the Gaunt house."

"It's so strange," David uttered, curiously eyeing his surroundings. "I don't remember anything.

"I know, son," Tom said. "You had an accident and lost your memory, but there's nothing that the healers can do about it. We just have to make new memories, won't we?"

"All right," David replied, hesitantly. _'Something is wrong here, but I can't place it,'_ he thought, still feeling confused. His eyes widened, when a large snake slithered into the room.

"This is Mahoni, my familiar," Tom informed him.

"Hi Mahoni," David hissed, knowing that he was able to talk to snakes.

"Hello Desssmond," Mahoni replied, gently slithering around his feet.

David carefully petted the serpent, realising that it felt soothing to caress the animal's cool skin.

HP

Tom looked at his newfound son with mixed feelings. On the one hand, he was happy to have a son, even if the boy was only six and a half years younger than himself, he was also happy to have succeeded in harming Elisabeth Slytherin by taking her boy from her, but on the other hand, he was afraid that Desmond would somehow find out the truth sooner or later.

He had planned everything well. He had obliviated the boy about everything concerning his former family and he had used a spell to turn the boy's red hair black and his brown eyes dark green like his own. The spells should be fool-proof, as he had found both of them by using Legilimency on the witch in the shop at Knockturn Alley, who had spelled his own eyes. ' _The memories should be safe, too, considering that my magic is fairly strong,'_ Tom thought, contentedly.

In fact, he had considered blood-adopting the boy; however, a blood-adopting potion was not easy to buy, not even at Knockturn Alley, and Tom neither had powerful allies nor was he able to brew a highly difficult potion by himself. ' _Maybe it'll be easier once I manage to get an influential position in the ministry,_ ' he thought. ' _I'll have to wait until the boy goes to Hogwarts though, before I can begin working._ '

"As you're going to go to Hogwarts in three months' time, I'm going to intensely teach you from tomorrow morning onwards," he informed his son. "Therefore, we'll go to Diagon Alley to buy a wand for you first thing in the morning."

 _'It's better to take him now than after the beginning of the holidays, when the alley will be more crowded,'_ he thought, when he guided his son to Ollivander's, still not overly convinced if it wouldn't be better to buy a wand at Knockturn Alley. _'It could be important to have an Ollivander made wand for a first-year,_ ' he decided, half-heartedly.

He almost regretted his decision, when Desmond received a wand with the core of a phoenix feather, and was completely horrified, when Ollivander told his son that it was strange that the wand, which had chosen him, was the equivalent to the wand that had given his brother his scar.

' _His brother has a scar?'_ Tom thought in confusion. _'I thought it was Harry Potter who had the scar, but he's not his brother. Oh well, maybe Ollivander is already losing his marbles. My former wand had a phoenix feather as its core,'_ he recalled, however, believing that the wand was probably lost to him. ' _Who knows what my older self did with it,_ ' he thought.

To his relief, the boy did not understand what the wandmaker was implying, and Ollivander seemed to not recognise Tom. "He's not my brother but my father," Desmond quipped in apparent confusion, and Tom quickly pulled him out of the shop.

During the following weeks, he taught his son a series of dark spells, as the boy already knew much about Transfiguration spells and Charms.

 _'He already almost knows as much as I do,'_ he thought, horrified, wondering if he should do some more thorough Obliviation spells. However, he dismissed the idea, considering that it was a good thing if his son excelled at Hogwarts.

HP

The atmosphere at Gryffindor Manor was subdued to say the least, as everyone was badly missing David. Annette was off worst. She became very ill at the loss of her adored brother, was spiking a high fever and refused to eat anything, so that Perenelle came to stay in the manor with the enlarged family looking after the little girl over the whole summer.

James made wands for Niamh, Aidan and David, still hoping that their son would be back sometime in the near future. He also made three Crystals of Atlantis, while Severus brewed three doses of the Animagus potion.

"What animal are you going to become?" Susan asked her younger siblings with apparent curiosity.

"Why chameguises of course," Niamh replied, grinning. "We already decided that ages ago."

The girl carefully took two hairs from Harry's chameguise form, and a short while later, two young chameguises joined the three older ones.

=Well done,= Harry told them.

=Now practise to walk in this form,= Susan instructed them, smiling at the younger chameguises.

Assisting their two younger siblings practising their transformations helped the older trio to cope with their grief over David's absence.

 _'Dad and Severus probably chose today to make them become Animagi to take everyone's mind off the fact that it's David's birthday,_ ' Harry thought, sadly. _'It's especially bad today, because Hermione went back to her parents this morning and will only be back when school begins.'_

"We still have a month, before school commences," he spoke up, slightly hesitating, as he knew that the adults were very busy looking for David. "Could anyone please teach us the Patronus charm as well as telepathy? I think that communication is very important, especially now with David missing."

Severus, James and Remus exchanged a look. Apart from Alice, who was looking after the baby quartet, and Perenelle, who was caring for Annette, everyone else was away searching for their missing family member. Unfortunately, all attempts to find him had so far remained inefficient. It almost was as if he had been swallowed off the face of the earth.

"I can teach you telepathy," Severus offered. "Every evening from when we close the apothecary until dinner."

A triple "Thank you, Severus" followed his offer, causing the Potions Master to smile. He remained pensive for a moment, before adding, "We'll have to see if I can teach the three of you together or if you need to take turns."

"Well, then we'll tackle the Patronus charm right after breakfast in the mornings," Remus offered, causing the oldest trio to cheer.

"Mione is so going to kill us," Susan blurted out, making the boys grin.

"That's true," Harry admitted.

"But we can teach her then," Neville added, smirking.

"I'm sure she'll appreciate it most if you're the one to teach her," Harry replied, chuckling, when Neville could not prevent himself from blushing.

"That's true," Susan agreed, chuckling. "When are you going to ask her to become your girlfriend?" she enquired, giving Neville a sharp look.

Neville stared at his sister in apparent shock. "I don't have a clue how to do such a thing," he admitted in a small voice.

James smirked. "You'll soon have the opportunity to practise," he announced and informed the children about the Triwizard tournament that was going to take place at the school. "Dumbledore told us the other day that we're going to have a Yule Ball this year, and you don't only have to learn to dance, but you also need a partner for the ball."

"Really?" Harry asked, horrified, his thoughts going haywire. _'Whom could I invite?'_ he wondered. _'Perhaps Daphne. Or Luna; she's quite nice,'_ he thought, feeling slightly upset at the prospect of having to ask one of the girls to accompany him.

"Do you mind if I ask Hermione?" Neville enquired in a small voice.

"Of course not," Susan and Harry confirmed, simultaneously.

"I suppose that I should give you a few dancing lessons in the afternoons then," Alice spoke up, smiling.

"Oh…"

"… yes please…"

"… and thank you," the children shouted, eagerly.

HP

Too soon for the older trio's liking, the holidays were over, and very excited Niamh and Aidan had to be apparated to King's Cross to board the Hogwarts Express. While they had never taken the train apart from their own first year, the older trio decided to join their younger siblings for the travel.

Alice and Amelia apparated their children directly onto the platform, and Susan and Neville pulled them onto the train, where Harry was already securing a compartment for the family.

 _'I hope Sopho will sort them into Ravenclaw,_ ' Harry thought, knowing that Niamh and Aidan had decided that they wanted to join their older siblings in their house. ' _David wanted to become a raven, too,'_ Harry could not help thinking, wondering if his younger brother would manage to attend Hogwarts at all.

HP

Several hours later, David was standing in the Great Hall together with the other first-years waiting for his Sorting.

"You're going to be in Slytherin," his father had told him, when he sent him off to the Hogwarts Express in the morning, and David had every intention to ask the Sorting Hat to sort him into the house of the snakes.

However, when he followed the Sorting and noticed Black-Bones, Niamh to become sorted into Ravenclaw, he thought, _'Ravenclaw? I think I've heard of that before. Somehow, the house was special, but I don't know why. Do I need to have myself be sorted into Slytherin? Maybe Ravenclaw is even better._ ' He was so engrossed in his musings that he almost missed it, when Professor McGonagall called his name.

"Gaunt, Desmond," the old witch read from her list.

David quickly stumbled forward and took a seat on the stool. A moment later, a thin voice spoke into his head.

'Ravenclaw I suppose?'

'Oh yes please,' David replied, feeling very much relieved at the Hat's decision.

"Ravenclaw," the Hat shouted into the hall, and David quickly handed the Hat back to the deputy headmistress, before she strode towards the Ravenclaw table, glad that he received as much applause as everyone else.

 _'I just hope that Dad won't be angry that I didn't end up in Slytherin,'_ he thought, as he took a seat next to the other first-years.

HP

Harry eyed the new first-years in disappointment at the absence of a certain redhead. ' _David is not here,'_ he thought, sadly. _'At least Niamh and Aidan have been sorted into Ravenclaw._ ' Inwardly letting out a deep sigh, he addressed the new first-years in a soft voice and introduced himself and his siblings.

"My friends and I are here for you if you have any question or problems," he promised the younger students, before he informed the first-years that the four of them would take the new students to their classrooms on the first day.

"Thanks Harry," Niamh replied, smiling, and the other first-years nodded eagerly, before everyone quieted, when the headmaster rose from his chair and began to speak.

When he told the school about the Triwizard Tournament, the students all over the Great Hall began to babble with apparent excitement, however, everyone became silent, when the headmaster mentioned that there would be no Quidditch matches this year.

"Oh nooo," Harry could hear the fellow members of his Quidditch team breathe in clear disappointment.

Making a quick decision, he rose from his chair. "Headmaster," he addressed the old wizard. "As you said earlier, only one of us is going to compete in the tournament. The rest of the students will only be watching. There is no reason for us to not play Quidditch. Therefore, I demand that we're going to proceed with our Quidditch tournament as usual."

With that, he sat back on his seat, shaking his head in annoyance at the old wizard and his habit of making poor decisions. With surprise, he realised that his little speech had provoked huge applause from all over the Great Hall.

"Very well, we shall then have our Quidditch tournament," Dumbledore announced, when the applause was almost over, sounding very tired. "I'll see to it that they change the third task to something else."

"He had to agree," Susan informed the first-years, who were staring at Harry in apparent amazement. "Harry is the owner of Hogwarts."

' _Thanks for telling them, Susan,_ ' Harry thought in annoyance. _'Now I'm going to have eight more admirers in this house.'_ He was brought back to reality, when each member of the Quidditch team addressed him to profusely thank him.

Harry shrugged. "Just see to it that we win the cup again," he replied, smirking.

During the last two years, ever since Harry had joined the team as their Seeker, Ravenclaw had managed to win the Quidditch cup after a very long time.

HP

In the morning, the quartet waited for Niamh and Aidan in the common room. As soon as their siblings arrived, they led them into Harry's and Neville's room.

"Since you're sharing your rooms with people who don't belong to our family, we can't make connecting doors from your rooms to the founders' quarters," Harry explained. "However, if you wish to go home or even just only to the founders' quarters, you can always go through our rooms."

"Just make sure that no one follows you," Hermione added, "and Niamh, you can use Susan's and my room as well if you wish."

"We can just disillusion ourselves," Niamh replied, seeming excited, as she carefully stepped through the connecting door.

"Who are your roommates? Are they nice at least?" Susan enquired.

Both nodded their heads.

"Kathie Brocklehurst," Niamh replied. "She has an older sister in your year."

"Mandy," Susan added, nodding. "I don't know her well. I didn't even know that she has a sister."

"Desmond Gaunt," Aidan spoke up, shrugging. "He seems nice, even if a bit strange. His father told him to let himself be sorted into Slytherin, but Sopho chose Ravenclaw."

"Oh well, since we have the study rooms, the houses don't matter so much anymore anyway. Let's head to breakfast," Harry suggested. "I'm hungry."

HP

David thoroughly enjoyed himself. He still felt strange, considering that he did not know anything about his life that was more than three months ago. _'At least I kept my memory concerning spells and charms I learned earlier than that,_ ' he thought, contentedly. ' _My roommate, Aidan, is really nice, and the fourth-year students are just amazing. How Harry contradicted Dumbledore last night was really impressive, and it was extremely helpful how they took us from one class to the next today. I wonder if I can ask them where the owlery is. I need to write to Dad and tell him that I'm in Ravenclaw,_ ' he thought, before he glanced around the study room and noticed that all of his classmates were writing letters, too.

"Do you know where the owlery is?" he asked Aidan, who was sitting nearby together with a nice-looking girl.

"No, but Harry or Neville will come by later and show us. Just see to it that you're finished writing by then," Aidan replied, encouragingly.

"All right," David replied, gratefully, and hurriedly set to write.

 _'Hi Dad,  
Hogwarts is great. You were right. The view over the lake is beautiful in the dark.  
By the way, the Sorting Hat did not listen to me but sorted me into Ravenclaw. I am very sorry. I would have wanted to be a Slytherin like you were. My classmates seem nice, and the fourth-years are brilliant. They even overrode the headmaster's decision to not have a Quidditch tournament this year.  
I hope you can forgive me for not being in Slytherin.  
Best regards  
Desmond'_

HP

During the following days, Aidan observed in concern how frightened his roommate looked, when the owls flew into the Great Hall during breakfast time. _'I wonder if he's afraid that his father will scold him because of not being in Slytherin,'_ he thought, when David's face turned white upon finally receiving a letter. He resolved to speak with his older brothers about the matter at the next opportunity.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please don't kill me - David will be back in the next chapter - see you soon._


	27. The First Task

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

 ** _A.N. Since several of my dear readers were so upset about the matter with David, I give you the next chapter right away. To those who have not read chapter 26 yet, which I only posted one hour ago, please go back and read chapter 26 first. Thank you all - and enjoy :-)_**

* * *

As soon as he could leave the breakfast table without attracting attention, David left the Great Hall and hurried to the first-years' study room, which was fortunately empty at this time. He hesitantly unfolded the parchment, which his father's owl had brought earlier.

 _'Desmond,  
Ravenclaw is fine, son. In fact, at my own Sorting, the Hat told me that I would fit into Ravenclaw as well, but I chose Slytherin.  
From next week onwards, I am going to work in the Department of International Affairs at the Ministry of Magic, just for your information.  
Keep me updated about your progress at Hogwarts.  
Your father  
Tom Gaunt'_

 _'Thank Merlin he's not upset that I'm in Ravenclaw,'_ David thought in relief. Glancing at the permanent tempus charm on the wall, he realised that he had to hurry to be on time for his Potions class. _'The entrance hall,'_ he recalled, as he left the study room without further ado. _'There was a shortcut to the Potions classroom.'_

He smiled upon realising that his classmates were only just assembling in front of the connecting door. ' _Thank Merlin I'm not late,'_ he thought, as he listened to the babbling between his excited classmates.

HP

During the following weeks, the halls were buzzing with excitement, as everyone anticipated the arrival of the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.

"Thank Merlin there's the age line around the goblet, so no one from our year will be able to participate," Harry said to his siblings upon hearing from Draco that Ronald Weasley had apparently decided to compete in the tournament.

"That's true. We need someone to represent Hogwarts who's really good," Neville added, eagerly.

"First of all, we need someone who's good enough to survive the thing," Susan added, rolling her eyes at her brothers.

"Someone who's at least more studious than Ronald," Hermione added, firmly.

"Well, let's head to the Great Hall and see who is going to become Hogwarts' champion," Daphne suggested, glancing at the permanent tempus charm on the wall of the study room. "It's time for the Halloween feast."

Deep in thoughts, Harry followed his siblings and classmates to the Great Hall. _'Today, it's thirteen years since Mum's and Dad's supposed death,_ ' he thought, wondering how long his parents were going to keep up the charade. ' _Dumbledore is already quite weakened, considering that I can overwrite all his decisions at Hogwarts.'_

Sitting at his house table, Harry watched Viktor Krum with interest. The Bulgarian was the Seeker of the national Quidditch team and was said to be extremely good. He had caught the Snitch in the recent Quidditch World Cup, which the extended family had intended to attend, however, had finally skipped because of the matter with David. _'It would be fun to have a Quidditch match against the two guest schools,'_ he thought, deciding to discuss the idea with his extended family later on.

Letting his eyes wander to the Beauxbatons students, he realised that most of the girls were very pretty. _'I can't understand why Neville, Aidan and most of the other boys were so affected by their allure last night,_ ' he thought. _'Apart from one of the first-years and myself, probably every male student at the Ravenclaw table was affected.'_

Twenty minutes later, the whole school was celebrating Cedric Diggory as the Hogwarts champion, just before the goblet spit out a fourth name.

"Harry Potter," Dumbledore read from the parchment in his hands, causing the Great Hall to become silent at once.

Harry rose from his chair. "No sir," he replied, calmly. "I haven't put in my name, and I'm not going to compete in the tournament."

Everyone stared at him in clear shock, when all of a sudden, the attention became diverted towards the high table, where Elisabeth Slytherin rose from her chair.

"Harry Potter will not compete," she announced in a firm voice.

"Professor Slytherin," Dumbledore replied in a grave voice. "I'm afraid that Harry entered a binding contract by putting his name into the goblet."

"Harry did not enter his name, as he stated a minute ago," Lily said in a firm voice. "Moreover, Harry Potter is not even his real name." Slowly pulling off her ring, she announced, "My son Harry's name is Harry Salazar Potter Slytherin-Gryffindor, in short Harry Slytherin-Gryffindor. Due to the use of the fake name Harry Potter, no magical contract has been made with my son."

Huge tumult broke out following Lily's announcement.

"Lily Potter?" Dumbledore asked, incredulously, once the Great Hall quietened down some.

"My name is Lily Elisabeth Slytherin-Gryffindor," Lily replied in a no-nonsense voice, pointing to James, who was sitting next to her, "and this is my husband James Sebastian Slytherin-Gryffindor."

"Dumbledore," Bagman, the head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, who was, together with Crouch, responsible for the tournament, spoke up. "The champions are waiting for you. The Potter boy must participate in any case."

"Harry, will you please join us for a moment?" Dumbledore asked, however, Harry refused, insisting that he had not put his name into the goblet.

HP

Harry did not know what had been spoken in the antechamber, however, later on, Dumbledore informed him that he would not have to compete.

"Ludo Bagman insisted that you had to compete, however, considering that you didn't add your name yourself and that it's not even your official name, we believe that you're not in a contract with the goblet," the old wizard said in a grave voice.

"The person, who has added Harry's name, even if incorrectly, might lose their magic though," Severus spoke up, quirking an eyebrow.

"That might be true, my boy," Dumbledore agreed, "however, that's not our fault, and now it's time to end the feast."

HP

"Mum, Dad, are you sure that I'm not going to lose my magic if I don't compete?" Harry asked, once the students were dismissed and the extended family headed home.

"Absolutely certain," Regulus replied after hearing the full story.

"Provided that you really didn't put in your name?" Sirius enquired, giving him a sharp look.

"Of course not," Harry replied, indignantly. "Why would I do such a thing?"

"He didn't even have the opportunity to do such a thing," Susan spoke up, reassuringly. "He was together with us the whole time."

"Even if the visitors from the other schools don't know that I'm the owner of Hogwarts, I think I should try to assist the champions, and I also had the idea to have a Quidditch match between Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. May I perhaps organise that?"

Minerva nodded in approval. "Harry, I believe that's a very good idea, but it would be the best if you spoke with Professor Dumbledore about the matter."

"Yes, I'll do that tomorrow," Harry replied, absentmindedly, as he already planned to speak with the four team-captains about putting a team together. _'If Dumbledore doesn't agree, I'll overwrite his decision anyway,'_ he thought, shrugging.

HP

After the last afternoon class the following day, Harry made his way to the headmaster's office to discuss the international Quidditch tournament with the old wizard.

"I suggest beginning with the match Hogwarts versus Durmstrang on the Saturday a week after the first task of the tournament. Then Durmstrang could play Beauxbatons sometime in January, and we could have the final match Hogwarts versus Beauxbatons a week before or after the third task," Harry explained, what he had discussed with his siblings earlier.

"That sounds like a good plan, Harry," Dumbledore agreed. "I'll speak with the headmistress of Beauxbatons and the headmaster from Durmstrang at dinner time."

"Thank you, sir," Harry replied, gratefully. "If they agree, could you please ask the captains of the four Quidditch teams to meet me at the Ravenclaw table right after dinner?"

To his relief, Dumbledore agreed with his suggestions, and as soon as dinner was over, Harry met with the four Quidditch captains.

HP

"We need a Hogwarts team as well as a reserve team," he stated, "which means that we need fourteen players, as equally as possible from all houses. I'm going to be the captain and Seeker if you don't mind."

"Harry," Angelina, the Gryffindor captain spoke up, "thanks so much for not only telling Dumbledore off for cancelling Quidditch, but also for organising this. It's just brilliant."

"Thank you," Harry replied, smiling. "Who do you wish to play?"

"The twins as Beaters in any case," Angelina replied, pensively. "They're absolutely brilliant, especially as they're coordinated better than any other partners could be. Other than that, it depends on what positions we still need. I'd love to play Chaser, but if the other teams have better players…" She slowly trailed off.

"All right, Weasley and Weasley as the first team Beaters. Who has a really good Keeper?" Harry enquired.

By asking the captains, Harry filled his parchment with names, and fifteen minutes later, they had decided on a first and a reserve team.

"Please ask the members from this list belonging to your house teams if they agree to play for the Hogwarts teams. I wish to see both Hogwarts teams on the pitch on Sunday morning right after breakfast," Harry instructed the four captains, before he adjourned the meeting.

Everyone agreed and retired to their study rooms for the evening.

HP

"Harry, Harry," Aidan whispered in excitement, when they met in the corridor on their way to the Great Hall for dinner. "Hagrid showed me the dragons. They're enormous."

"Dragons?" Harry asked in bewilderment. "Where?"

"For the first task," Aidan whispered. "The champions must fight dragons."

"Do they know that?" Harry enquired, causing his younger brother to shrug, helplessly.

During dinner, Harry pondered the matter, before he decided to interfere. _'Dragons are dangerous, even if the champions know to expect them, so I'm going to tell them,_ ' he finally decided. He rose from his chair and stepped over to the Hufflepuff table.

"Cedric," he addressed the older boy. "Could I speak with you in private for a moment please?"

"Of course," the champion, who had always been very friendly to Harry, replied and swiftly followed him out of the Great Hall.

The two boys entered an unused classroom, and Harry cast a silencing spell around, before he asked, "Did you know that the first task is dragons?"

Cedric's eyes widened in shock. "Dragons? You mean we have to fight a dragon?"

Harry shrugged. "I only know that you have to face a dragon, I don't know if you have to fight it, cuddle with it or whatever. I'm sorry. I just thought I'd tell you."

Cedric nodded in understanding. "Thanks a lot, Harry, for telling me. Will you inform Fleur and Viktor, too?"

"I probably should, as it would only be fair to do so," Harry replied, letting out a deep sigh. "Do you have a plan?" he then asked, thoughtfully. "You probably would be able to outfly a dragon, wouldn't you?"

"Probably," Cedric replied, thoughtfully. "At least I've got a few days to consider the matter."

"All right," Harry agreed and offered, "If you need any help, advice or whatever, please come to see me. Even if I'm only a fourth-year, I've brilliant advisers."

Cedric thanked Harry profusely, and the two wizards slowly made their way to their study rooms.

HP

After lunch the following day, Harry hesitantly addressed the French champion. "Ms. Delacour, may I please speak with you for a moment?"

"Sure," Fleur replied, giving him a curious look. "Is it about ze tournament?"

"Yes," Harry confirmed, thinking, _'She's really very pretty.'_ "I just wanted to make sure that you know that you'll have to deal with a dragon. Cedric did not know about it, so…" He slowly trailed off.

"Yes, I know zat," Fleur replied in a firm voice. "Professor Maxime already told me about it. Neverzeless, I zank you very much for ze information, which would 'ave been invaluable if Madame Maxime 'ad not told me already."

"You're welcome," Harry replied, smiling.

During the next few days, Harry also spoke with Viktor, however, just like Fleur, he had already been informed by his headmaster. Nevertheless, he thanked him profusely for his attempt at assistance.

 _'I wonder why Dumbledore didn't tell Cedric,'_ he thought. _'Maybe they aren't allowed to know and the others are simply cheating. Oh well, I'll keep my eyes open and try to help them if I can.'_ Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind. _'Perhaps I could take Anni to view the first task. She'd be amazed to see dragons._ ' Knowing that he would not be missed in the study room so soon, he transformed into a cat and ran home to present his idea to the adults.

HP

The morning of the first task deemed bright and sunny, and Harry made his way out onto the grounds together with his classmates. "Oh, Mum has got Anni," he blurted out upon noticing his younger sister. "I'll be back right away."

"Bring her here," Susan instructed him, smiling happily.

However, it was already too late, as the two-year-old had already seen her older siblings and was on her way to where they were sitting.

"Hi little one," Harry said, as Annette climbed onto his lap. "Have you come to see the dragons?"

"Ye," Anni replied, placing sloppy kisses on Susan's, Hermione's, Harry's and Neville's cheeks, before she announced, "Anni sit wif Debi."

Harry frowned. "Anni, David isn't here," he said, sadly.

"Anni go Debi," Anni insisted and wriggled her way down from his lap.

The quartet observed in concern how the stubborn little witch made her way down to where the first years were sitting.

Knowing that Niamh and Aidan would take good care of their baby sister, they merely watched instead of going after the child. However, Anni merely greeted Niamh and Aidan with sloppy kisses only to climb onto Desmond Gaunt's lap.

"Debi!" she shouted, seemingly happy.

"Sorry?" the boy asked in apparent confusion. "Who are you?"

Anni turned her head and cast him a glare. "I'm Anni, and you look diffent, but I know you'we Debi, my bestest bwoda."

"David?" Niamh and Aidan asked, simultaneously, just when Ludo Bagman's voice sounded over the grounds.

The first task had begun, and Cedric Diggory stepped out of the tent to face a dragon, diverting everyone's attention from the little girl – except for those of the extended Slytherin family.

"If Anni insists that he's David, then he probably is," Harry whispered to his siblings, completely taken aback by the matter.

"Harry, she's only two," Hermione reminded him.

"That doesn't matter," Susan replied in apparent excitement."

"She's special," Neville added.

The four fourth-years, while pretending to watch Cedric fight a dragon, eagerly observed their baby sister with the first-years.

HP

David stared at the little girl in shock. _'Anni?'_ he wondered. Somehow, he had heard that name before. _'She's Anni, my favourite, small, baby sister,'_ he realised. _'But how? I only have a father, not a sister,_ ' he thought, realising that he was automatically cuddling the young girl.

"Anni?" he asked, tentatively.

"Yef, Debi know Anni now?" she asked, turning around to face him once more. "Wait," she instructed him, and her face was scrunched in apparent concentration, before she slumped down on his lap, where she remained unmoving, seemingly asleep.

"David," Aidan whispered, and Aidan and Niamh quickly changed places with the two boys, who had been sitting next to him. "Is that really you?"

"I don't know," David replied in shock. "I thought I was Desmond, and I only had my father."

Niamh conjured a small hand mirror and held it out to David. "Look, she changed your features back to what our David is supposed to look. You've got red hair and brown eyes now."

"Yes, I remember seeing myself in a mirror that way," David replied, while his thoughts went haywire. "What happened to me?"

"You were abducted a few months ago," Aidan whispered.

"Oh, then it must be true," David said in understanding and admitted, "I lost my memory a few months ago, but I think I know the two of you. You're my siblings. Oh Merlin, Anni is the best. How could she know what no one else knew?"

"She's extremely powerful," Niamh replied in a soft voice. "Hogwarts told Harry that she's the next Mugwump, which is the most powerful witch or wizard in the world."

 _'So that's why everything was so strange,_ ' David thought. _'Tom Gaunt is not my father, and I'm not Desmond Gaunt, but David Slytherin. He must have obliviated me, but even the disguise was unable to fool my Anni,_ ' he thought, gently caressing the little girl's soft cheeks.

"Thank Merlin, I'm so happy to have you back," he whispered, letting out a long sigh.

"Me too," Niamh and Aidan uttered, simultaneously.

The younger trio only realised that the first part of the first task was finished, when Lily rushed over to them, pulling David into a bear hug.

"David, my son, is that really you?" she whispered, tears streaming over her face.

"Mum," David replied in amazement. "I finally remember," he admitted. "Anni found out everything."

Not even bothering to further watch the first task, the extended family unobtrusively made their way back into the castle and returned home via the founders' quarters for a much needed and extremely joyful celebration.

Unfortunately, Anni was not able to join the celebrations, as the two-year-old had completely depleted her magic and was stuck in a comatose sleep.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and your expectations for this story. Any opinions or ideas are very welcome._


	28. The Second Task

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

As soon as the first task was over, Minerva joined the extended family at Gryffindor Manor, soon followed by Severus.

"David," Minerva blurted out, pulling the elven-year-old into a firm hug. "Thank Merlin you're back. We missed you so much and were so worried."

David cast her a genuine smile. "I'm really happy to be back, too," he admitted. "I'd like to say that I missed you, too, but I didn't remember anyone and anything. My father… oh, no, Tom Gaunt took all my memories of my family."

"Who is this Tom Gaunt?" Lily enquired.

David merely shrugged, giving his mother a helpless look.

"I can only imagine that he'd be the Dark Lord," Severus supplied. "He must be the one from the diary Horcrux, the one that killed Ginevra Weasley. I don't know who else would do such a thing, and the Dark Lord was in fact the heir of the Gaunt family, as his mother was a Gaunt. That's at least what Albus told me about Tom Riddle. I don't know why the original Dark Lord did never do as much as claim the heritage."

"He's not much older than myself I think," David said, thoughtfully. "He was nice to me, though. I really believed that he was my father. He taught me a lot of dark spells during the summer though, even unforgivable spells."

"Perhaps you should keep up writing letters to him, so that he won't know that we've found out everything," Regulus spoke up, pensively. "We should carefully plan our revenge, as long as you have access to his home and would be able to let us in."

"All right, Uncle Regulus," David agreed, smiling.

"Oh that reminds me," Minerva blurted up, her lips stretching to a thin line. "Ludo Bagman died right before the first task ended. Apparently, it was him who put Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire."

To everyone's surprise, Severus cast her a look of clear amusement. "Minerva, did you not…? Ah," he interrupted himself, "you were so eager to get away to your grandchildren that you completely missed the point." Seeing everyone stare at him, questioningly, he explained, "All of a sudden, his features changed into that of Barty Crouch Junior. Apparently, it was him under Polyjuice potion."

"Barty Crouch Junior?" Regulus spoke up in clear disbelief. "He's supposed to be dead."

"And where's the real Bagman?" Minerva enquired.

"That's for the Aurors to find out," Severus replied, smirking.

"Oh, is that why Aunt Ami and Aunt Marlene aren't here?" David asked, adding more to himself than to the others, "I thought someone was missing."

"I think I should head over to the castle as well just in case," Regulus mumbled, before he left the room, donning his Unspeakable robes as he went.

"Excuse me," Harry spoke up in confusion. "Does anyone know why exactly they wanted me to participate in the tournament?"

"No," Severus shook his head, balancing his daughter Amelie on his left knee. "I don't think that it was Tom Gaunt's idea, but rather the one of remaining Death Eaters from a different version of the Dark Lord. Don't forget that they believe you to be the Boy Who Lived. I don't have any information though. We can only wait and see, and you should be extremely careful, Harry."

"I will," Harry promised, feeling somehow uneasy about the matter.

"Severus," Lily spoke up, questioningly, "do you believe that the prophecy still applies to Harry? I mean, the copy was the one marked by Voldemort, not Harry himself."

Severus shrugged, uncharacteristically. "Maybe it doesn't apply anymore for said reason, but the problem is that the Dark Lord isn't aware of the fact. Not even Dumbledore is. So he might still come after Harry." Giving his assistant a sharp look, he added, "You must be extremely careful."

Harry nodded. "Yes, I know and my siblings are probably aware of the fact, too. I'm rarely ever alone." _'That's why it's so difficult to get to know other girls,'_ he thought, sighing.

HP

When the whole Ravenclaw house was missing from breakfast the following morning, no one even bothered to go looking for them, as the whole school could understand that the events of the previous day had required a huge party in the common room.

"Everyone is happy to have David back," Harry admitted to Minerva, when she kept him back after the Transfiguration class a few days later. "He was all right even while he was Desmond Gaunt, even considering who his supposed-to-be father was, but he's much more open and friendlier now that he's almost back to his usual self."

"It might take some time, before he'll have really processed everything," Minerva replied, gently. "That's why he's going to have sessions with Perenelle at home during the last afternoon class and dinner."

"That's good," Harry replied, smiling, before he left the Transfiguration classroom to run after his classmates.

HP

It was later the same day, when the fourth-years were studying in their study room, that Draco suddenly spoke up.

"Susan," he asked in a soft voice, "would you perhaps be willing to be my date for the Yule Ball?"

While Neville and Harry stared at their Slytherin friend with a combination of shock about Susan being asked and relief that it was by their common friend, Susan blushed profusely.

"I'd like that," she replied, smiling at Draco.

 _'Oh no, Neville already asked Hermione, now it's only me to not have a date yet,'_ Harry thought, horrified. _'I don't even know whom to ask.'_

He absentmindedly listened how Draco told them that Ronald Weasley had asked Fleur Delacour earlier and how the French champion had used her allure to thoroughly ridicule the younger boy.

 _'The question is whom to ask. Will everyone assume that whoever I take to the ball is my girlfriend? There's no one I really want to be my girlfriend right now. Otherwise, I could simply ask anyone.'_ Uncertain about the matter, he decided to discuss the matter with Susan, Hermione and Neville later on.

Susan was the first to reply to his stuttered question, once the quartet was comfortably sitting in the founders' quarters after curfew. "They will assume that the girl you take to the ball is your girlfriend, even if Draco and I don't have such a relationship yet."

"I think so, too," Hermione added, slightly blushing, as she glanced at Neville, who was staring at her with a delightful smile.

HP

At breakfast the following morning, Luna slipped into the seat next to Harry at the Ravenclaw table.

"I will accompany you to the Yule Ball as your date," she whispered to Harry, who stared at her with a combination of shock and hope.

"Luna, isn't it the boy's turn to invite someone?" Hermione blurted out in apparent bewilderment, causing Susan to gently give her a kick in the side.

"Yes, but the wrackspurts are clouding his brain, so I helped him to spare him the trouble to ask girls, who're already promised to others," Luna informed her in a firm voice, before she turned back to Harry.

"Luna, will you really be my date for the ball?" Harry whispered, unable to believe what had just happened. "Just as friends?"

"Of course Harry, just as friends," Luna confirmed, smiling.

"Thank you," Harry breathed in relief, thinking, ' _Luna is strange, but I like her, and she's not like some others who'd merely want to accompany me because they believe that I was the Boy Who Lived.'_

HP

The Yule Ball was much fun, and Harry felt very grateful towards Luna, who had not only prevented him from having to ask other girls but was also good company.

It was in the morning following the ball, when Fleur Delacour suddenly pulled Harry aside.

"Mr. Potter, may I speak to you in private?" she enquired, giving him a sharp look.

"Please just call me Harry," Harry replied, only to add, "Yes, of course." He led the champion into an empty classroom, casting a series of silencing spells and locking charms at the door, to which Fleur added some of herself.

"Do you know what ze second task ees?" she asked, bluntly, causing Harry to shake his head in denial.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have a clue," he replied, surprising himself with the realisation that he had not even considered the matter.

Fleur swiftly informed him about the task, before she explained, "As you might know, I'm partly veela, and veelas are fire people, not water people. Zerefore, I'm afraid zat I won't be able to complete ze task, and I was wondering if you, as ze owner of ze castle, 'ave any way to 'elp me wiz eet. Moreover," she added, holding out her hand to stop Harry from interrupting, "I'm afraid zat zey'll take Gabi, my little sister, as 'ostage, and I fear for 'er life."

Harry remained pensive for a moment, before he promised, "I'll think about it. I can't promise that I come up with an idea, but I'll do my best. Please give me some time to consider the matter."

"Zank you so much," Fleur replied, tentatively asking, "A week?"

Harry nodded in agreement. "Yes, a week please. I'll get back to you during the next weekend."

HP

Harry walked straight up to the founders' quarters and conferred with the founders in their painting, glad when Salazar was able to present him with a seemingly flawless idea.

During the following hour, he conversed with Amaterasu as well as with the Giant Squid, before he caught up with Fleur on her way to the Great Hall for lunch and informed her about his plans.

"Zank you so very much," Fleur replied, gratefully, gently pulling him into a bear hug.

"It's fine," Harry replied, surprised that he did not even feel uncomfortable at the girl's embrace.

"Do you mind if I speak wiz my parents and Gabi about your plan?" she then asked, giving him a pleading look.

Harry inwardly sighed. "You may tell them, but please make sure that they don't tell anyone else. Otherwise, you might be banned from the tournament, as people will consider it cheating. I will not tell anyone, not even my family."

"Yes, I know," Fleur agreed. "Zank you so very much for doing zis for me, 'Arry."

 _'I just hope it's really going to work out,'_ Harry thought with trepidation.

HP

During the Quidditch match Beauxbatons versus Durmstrang, which took place a week before the second task of the tournament, Fleur introduced Harry to Gabrielle, and Harry immediately liked the girl. _'She's even more beautiful than her older sister,'_ he thought as he tried in vain to hide his admiration for the girl, who was about his own age.

"Don't use your allure on my brother," Hermione suddenly hissed at the girl, who turned around, glaring at her.

"I am not using my allure," Gabrielle emphasized. "I am merely speaking wiz 'Arry."

"It's fine, don't listen to anyone. You're beautiful, Gabi," Harry breathed, before he became distracted, when Viktor caught the Snitch.

During the following week, Harry could not help his thoughts wander off to one pretty French girl, and he resolved to make sure that she was going to be safe during the second task.

HP

"Where's Harry?" Susan asked, only realising that her brother was missing, when they sat in the spectator seats to watch the second task.

James and Sirius had provided a huge screen, which was divided in multiple parts showing various places inside the lake. In one of the windows, they could see the hostages.

' _Oh, they took Fleur's younger sister as a hostage,'_ Susan realised. _'Maybe it's better if Harry doesn't watch this. He seems completely smitten with her ever since he met her first.'_

HP

Harry could not help feeling excited at the task ahead. Unbeknownst to his family, he was sitting in a tree in the form of a mosly, a tiny magical fly. The mosly had two special abilities, the first being that it could flash like a phoenix, however, in contrary to the larger phoenix even into very small places, the second being that it had a deadly bite.

As soon as he saw Fleur jump into the lake, he flashed into the Chamber of Secrets and changed back into his human form, downed the dose of Polyjuice potion, which he had carried around in his robe pocket, before he climbed onto Amaterasu's back. Knowing that every move underwater was going to be broadcast on the screen above the lake, he disillusioned himself as well as the basilisk, before he swallowed the Gillyweed and hissed at Amaterasu that he was ready for her to leave.

With Harry clinging to her back, the basilisk dashed out of the chamber into the direction of the lake, entering the lake through an opening in the ceiling, which was completely invisible from outside the lake.

She slowly headed to where the merpeople lived, as Harry had instructed her to not be too fast. On the way to the bottom of the lake, Harry saw Fleur being detained by the Giant Squid like he had agreed with the large animal. He quickly made himself visible and began to move his arms and legs, so that everyone possibly watching would assume that he was swimming.

By the time they reached the spot, where the hostages were being kept, none of the champions had reached that part of the lake yet. ' _That's better,_ ' Harry thought and swiftly set to free Gabrielle.

Carrying the girl with him, he allowed Amaterasu to take him back to the spot, where the Giant Squid was entertaining Fleur. Right on time, he once again disillusioned himself and made the girl float over towards her older sister, who immediately embraced her and took her with her towards the shore.

 _'Thank Merlin, that went well,'_ Harry thought, as Amaterasu returned to the Chamber of Secrets with him once again clinging to her back. _'I just hope no one noticed that something was off,'_ he thought, as he once again made himself comfortable on the basilisk's back to wait for the Polyjuice potion to wear off.

HP

Due to the small detour to the spot right below the surface, where the Giant Squid had been keeping Fleur, the French champion did not reach the goal very early, however, she still arrived before any of the other champions.

"I just 'ate water," she voiced, when the adults approached her, glad when her mother immediately began to fawn over her younger sister.

"Neverzeless, zat was very well done," her headmistress commended her. "Congratulations Fleur."

"Zank you," Fleur replied, smiling, feeling relieved that her sister was safe, but still uneasy at the thought of anyone finding out about her cheating.

In fact, Percy Weasley, who had replaced Mr. Crouch, after the older wizard had been taken into custody following the debacle with his son, had noticed and voiced that the swimming style of the French champion had been extremely strange, especially when approaching the hostages. However, Professor Maxime was able to explain the matter by stating that Fleur was a veela and as such the exact opposite of a water person.

"Yes, zat's my problem," Fleur agreed, gratefully. "I'm just glad zat I manged to come back wiz Gabi safely."

To her relief, no one else seemed to have noticed anything, and she received full points for the task.

HP

For Harry, the second task of the tournament had two after-effects, one being that Susan was outright suspicious as to why he had chosen to visit Amaterasu and fall asleep on her instead of watching the second task with them, the second being that Gabrielle was viewing Harry as her great lifesaver.

One Sunday morning after the Quidditch practice of the Hogwarts team, Gabrielle caught up with him.

"'Arri, I wish to zank ze basilisk for saving my life. Will you take me to see him?"

"It's not him, it's her," Harry replied, absentmindedly. "I can take you to see her, but you won't be able to speak with her, and it's all right. There's no need to thank her. I already did so, as she's our familiar."

"Harry, you can't simply take people there," Susan warned him, eyeing her brother in concern.

 _'I'd like to spend some time with Gabi alone though,'_ Harry thought, unconsciously letting out a deep sigh. _'As glad as I am to have such a wonderful family, I'm never really alone without supervision.'_

To his disappointment, Gabrielle quickly left, apparently discouraged by his sister's interference.

"I think I like Gabi," he said to his sister, who gave him an exasperated look.

"Don't you realise that she's using her allure on you?" she asked in apparent annoyance. "When did Amaterasu save her life by the way?"

Harry quietly informed his sister of the happenings during the second task, warning, "No one apart from Fleur, Gabi and their parents know about the matter."

"I won't tell," Susan replied matter-of-factly. "It's strange though that you, the owner of Hogwarts, would cheat to assist a competitor of our own Hogwarts champion," she added, shrugging.

"That's because she's a veela," Harry justified himself. "They're fire people not water people, and she wouldn't have been able to free Gabi by herself. She was almost panicking, when she approached me and asked for help."

"All right," Susan agreed, "then it was right for you to help her." She remained pensive for a moment, before suggesting, "If you really like Gabi, why don't you invite her to accompany you to Hogsmeade on Saturday?"

Harry stared at his sister, wide-eyed. "That's a brilliant idea," he admitted, suddenly feeling extremely excited. ' _Other that I don't have a clue how to ask such a thing, especially since I'm barely ever alone._ ' He let a few scenarios pass in front of his mind, in which he could perhaps gather the courage to ask the French girl out, when Susan broke the silence, bringing him back to reality.

Neither of them noticed a fat garden rat scurry away in excitement.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please be so kind and feed my muse. Any opinions or ideas and criticism are very welcome._


	29. Hogsmeade

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

On Tuesday afternoon, Harry met Fleur, when he walked over the grounds on his way to the Potions classroom. Usually, he just took the shortcut like most of the students; however, it was a beautiful sunny day in spring, and the grounds looked inviting enough for him to take the small walk.

"Fleur," he addressed the girl, who ever since he had helped her with the second task had become something like a friend to him, "I'd like to ask Gabi to accompany me to Hogsmeade on Saturday. Do you think she'd like to go with me?"

To his surprise, Fleur chuckled. "I'm certain zat she would love to accompany you. Ever since you saved 'er out of the lake, she speaks about nossing else but you. My parents are already annoyed. 'Owever, I must ask zem if she may go, as she is not a student 'ere."

"Would you please be so kind and ask her?" Harry enquired, sensing that Fleur seemed to be extremely amused by the matter.

"I will," she promised, before each of them went their own ways.

HP

"Gabi agreed to accompany me to Hogsmeade tomorrow," he informed his friends on Friday evening, causing everyone to stare at him in surprise.

"Well done, Harry," Susan finally said, noticing in amusement how happy her brother looked.

"Will you still meet us at the Three Broomsticks for lunch?" Draco enquired, seeming equally amused.

Harry shrugged. "If Gabi doesn't mind, then yes, of course," he replied, grinning in anticipation.

HP

As he had already done twice before, Dumbledore called Harry into his office before breakfast in the morning of the Hogsmeade day.

 _'How annoying,'_ Harry thought, as he entered the headmaster's office, letting out a long sigh before refusing the offered sweet. _'He should know by now that I don't eat lemon drops,'_ he thought in irritation.

"Harry, Peter Pettigrew is still on the loose, and it would be much safer for you to remained in the castle," the old wizard told him, causing him to inwardly groan.

 _'This time I'm going together with a wonderful girl, so I'm not going to hide again,'_ Harry decided.

"Yes sir, I'm aware of the fact, but still, I wish to go to Hogsmeade together with everyone else, and my parents already gave me their permission," he replied in determination. "If that's all?" he enquired, causing the old wizard to grudgingly dismiss him.

' _If I didn't know better, I'd perhaps believe that he's really worried for me,_ ' he thought, as he headed to the Great Hall, looking forward to the Hogsmeade visit.

HP

Tom was sitting at his desk in the study of Gaunt Manor, enjoying the fact that it was Saturday and he did not have to work.

 _'I'll write a letter to Desmond,'_ he thought, quickly re-reading his son's latest letter. The boy regularly wrote once in a fortnight and told him about Hogwarts as well as about the Triwizard tournament, and Tom always penned a reply during the weekends.

In fact, he was looking forward to having the boy at home again during the summer. _'Bad enough that he wasn't allowed to return home during the Christmas holidays,'_ he thought, having been informed by his son that all students had to remain at Hogwarts because of a Yule Ball.

All of a sudden, Nagini entered the room. She curled up next to Mahoni in front of the fireplace, before she addressed him.

"Today, it'sss going to happen. My massster isss going to get a corporeal body, provided that the processs workssss," she hissed, seeming very contented.

"Isss that ssso?" Tom enquired, indecisive if he should care about it or rather not. ' _Somehow, I'd rather not have him around though. Yes, I know that I'm bad having abducted and brainwashed Desmond, but I'm not as evil as him if everything that the Weasley girl told me is true,'_ he thought, wondering if there was anything that he could do to sabotage the ritual.

Unfortunately, he could not come up with any idea whatsoever and was just about to give up and decide to simply wait it out, almost regretting that he had not considered getting rid of the small, disgusting bundle in the attic of Riddle Manor before. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. _'Maybe he's made more Horcruxes, and perhaps he even hid one at Hogwarts instead of giving it to one of his followers. I'm going to have a look. Perhaps I can consume another Horcrux and add its magic to my own, so that I'll become stronger than him.'_

Swiftly finishing his letter, he disillusioned himself and apparated to Hogsmeade, only to realise that the timing was the worst that he could have chosen, as Honeydukes was extremely crowded, and he was not able to get into the cellar without bumping into students.

 _'So much about using the secret passage,'_ he thought in annoyance, as he set to walk up to the castle the usual way, hoping that the entrance doors would be open, considering that it seemed to be a Hogsmeade day.

HP

Harry and Gabrielle left the Great Hall together with Harry's classmates and headed to Hogsmeade, where they separated for a few hours.

"Is there anywhere you'd like to go?" Harry enquired, smiling at his friend.

"I don't know anywhere," Gabi replied. "I would like just look around. Sorry 'Arry," she suddenly apologized. "My English is not good."

"Your English is perfect," Harry replied, gently, before he led her through the interesting shops along the main street. He only left out the Marauders Miracles, as it was extremely crowded. _'Thank Merlin Remus is assisting Sirius on Saturdays,_ ' Harry thought, as he led Gabi into the broom shop.

They spoke with James for a few minutes, before a huge group of students brushed into the room and James had to get back to working.

"Shall we go and have some tea?" Harry suggested, causing Gabi to smile.

"I'd like zat," she admitted. "I don't like tea very much so, more ze coffee."

"All right," Harry agreed and led her to a very small coffee shop, which was far from the main street and not known to students. He was only familiar with the café, as Sirius and Severus had brought him there a couple of times.

"I love zis shop," Gabi blurted out, looking out into the garden, which was a flower paradise. "It is quiet, and ze music is nice. It is curious zat zere are no ozer students."

"It is not known to students," Harry admitted. "I'm only familiar with it, because my family is living in Hogsmeade. Maybe not even my siblings know it though," he added as an afterthought.

Gabi was very talkative and told him a lot about Beauxbatons and her studies, before she asked him many things about Hogwarts.

 _'She's almost as inquisitive as Hermione,'_ Harry thought in amusement, realising happily that he was in the company of a not only very intelligent but also extremely beautiful girl. Suddenly, an unnerving thought popped up in front of his mind.

"Are you going back to Beauxbatons soon?" he enquired, causing Gabi to smile.

"No, Maman asked Professor Maxime if I could stay 'ere wiz Fleur until zey return 'ome, and she agreed," she replied. "I'm in my fourz year at Beauxbatons, and Professor McGonagall invited me to attend classes at 'Ogwarts until ze summer. But so far, I 'aven't…" She slowly trailed off, seemingly uncertain.

"Why not?" Harry enquired in a soft voice, only to add, "I'm a fourth-year as well, and I'd love to have you with me in class."

"You're so nice," Gabi replied, smiling. "Ze boys iin my class in Beauxbatons were not so nice. Zey don't like zat I'm part veela like Fleur."

Harry looked at her in surprise. "Why does that matter?" he asked, frowning. "You're absolutely beautiful."

Gabi smiled broadly. "Zank you, 'Arry," she replied, seemingly happy.

They talked until it was time to slowly head to the Three Broomsticks to meet the others for lunch. Before leaving, Harry gathered his courage and asked, hesitantly, "Gabi, would you perhaps be willing to become my girlfriend?"

 _'Yes, I did it,'_ he thought, happily. _'I asked like Susan and Neville told me to.'_

"I'd love to be your girlfriend, 'Arry," Gabi replied, "alzough I must probably return to France in ze summer. But maybe not," she added, smiling.

On their way back towards the main street, Harry led the girl by a small jeweller's shop, where he bought a small silver bracelet for her, smiling, when she thanked him in so much excitement that she showered him with a flood of French.

HP

When they arrived in front of the Three Broomsticks, Gabi suddenly pointed to the ground in disgust.

"Look, 'Arry, a big mouse," she said in clear abhorrence. "Do zey have mice 'ere?"

"That's not a mouse but a rat," Harry replied, when a sudden thought crossed his mind. ' _Wormtail._ '

He barely had time to push Gabi inside, instructing her to sit with Susan, Hermione and Neville, when the rat transformed into a pudgy man, who simply took Harry's arm and apparated away with him.

HP

Tom sighed in relief, when he managed to get to the seventh floor without being seen. _'I need a room, where my older self, my real self or whatever would hide something very important,'_ he thought, as he paced the corridor. He eagerly entered the provided room, looking around with interest.

The room was equipped with dozens of wooden shelves, which were cramped with hundreds of items, reaching from abandoned cauldrons over potions phials and books to girls' underwear.

 _'Oh Merlin, looking at everything here would take me ages, and I only have the weekend, before I need to be back at work,_ ' he thought in defeat. _'Maybe it'll work if I try to summon it. The only problem is that I don't have a clue what I'm looking for._ ' Letting out a deep sigh, he said in determination, "Accio Horcrux."

To his utter disappointment, none of the objects moved, and the room remained quiet.

"Accio founders' items," Tom tried, looking up in shock, when something resembling a storm arose, tearing the wooden shelves from the walls. Tom was barely able to duck and move backwards, before the shelves crashed onto the floor right in front of him.

 _'So the room itself was made by the founders,'_ Tom realised, feeling thoroughly disappointed at the obvious lack of a Horcrux.

All of a sudden, with a small gust of wind, a worn out, old hat appeared and hovered in front of him.

"The Sorting Hat," Tom blurted out in surprise.

"That I am," the Hat confirmed in a strict voice. "I know what you're looking for, but it isn't here anymore, and you'd do better to leave Hogwarts instantly. Otherwise, I'm going to inform my owners about your illegal presence here."

"All right, I'll leave right away," Tom replied, wondering what the Sorting Hat might be able to do to him. ' _Well, I better not try it out,_ ' he resolved.

"Do you know about other Horcruxes?" he could not help asking, nodding in understanding, when the Hat shook his head in denial.

"Thanks anyway," he added, before hurriedly leaving the room, making sure that his disillusioning charm was still in place. _'Strange that the Hat could see me anyway,'_ he thought, as he returned home. _'His magic must be extremely strong, even after almost a millennium.'_

HP

Before Harry knew what happened, he found himself in what seemed to be a graveyard, where the wizard whom he knew from the photographs in the Daily Prophet to be Peter Pettigrew tied him to a tomb stone.

Harry did not even think about transforming and flashing away – he was too much in shock and too busy figuring out what was happening. He wearily took in what seemed to be an enormous cauldron and a small, baby-like figure that was obviously giving instructions to his abductor.

Only when Pettigrew began with some strange kind of ritual, Harry considered getting away, however, decided to wait it out as long as his life was not endangered. _'If I flee now, they'll just come back and abduct one of my siblings again,'_ he thought. _'It's better if I remain here and see what happens. If they took Anni or anyone else from the baby quartet, they wouldn't even be able to get away or fight back at all.'_

He looked up in shock, when Pettigrew cut his arm with a dagger to take some blood from him. It was too late to do anything about it, and as Harry had decided to just wait and see, he remained calm and unobtrusively cast a wandless spell to stop the blood flow and another one to stop the pain, curiously observing what was happening. _'Where's Susan when I need her to heal me?'_ he thought, inwardly sighing at his predicament.

Only when Pettigrew stepped back from the cauldron, seemingly contented, and an adult wizard appeared out of it, Susan's horrified thought penetrated his mind. 'Harry, where are you? Can you try to flash home?' she contacted him through telepathy.

'Don't worry, I'm fine and I'll be back shortly,' Harry thought back, _'What am I waiting for? Pettigrew is the one who gave Mum and Dad out to Voldemort many years ago. If Salazar and Mum had not saved them, Mum and Dad would be dead, and most of my siblings wouldn't even exist if Mum hadn't been able to cure Alice, Frank and Remus. He almost killed them all.'_ Thinking of what the evil wizard had done to his family according to his mother, who had told him everything before he entered Hogwarts as an eleven-year-old, he became so angry that he decided to kill his parents' former friend.

Before he could transform into a mosly, however, Voldemort addressed him, bringing him back to reality.

"Harry Potter," he said in a not even unfriendly voice, "here we meet again."

With a flick of the evil wizard's wand, the ropes around his body were removed, and Harry quickly scrambled up to stand in front of Voldemort.

"Hello Tom," he grudgingly acknowledged his opponent's presence, realising in surprise that Voldemort had somehow managed to call his followers, while he had been distracted by his musings about Pettigrew.

"I am Lord Voldemort," he was quickly corrected, before some kind of red spell, which Harry did not recognise, travelled in his direction.

Harry quickly dodged the spell, firing a bone-breaking curse, which Regulus had once taught him, in return.

Unfortunately, Voldemort was able to doge as well, and during the following ten minutes, the two wizards fired a series of curses against each other, which they both managed to dodge or shield.

Finally, Voldemort announced that he had enough of playing and cast the killing curse.

Instead of stepping out of the way, Harry instantly transformed into a mosly and flashed to a spot behind Pettigrew, not even taking the usual step of the chameguise first.

Completely ignoring Voldemort, who seemed to be upset to not see a body, however, apparently believed that he had killed him, Harry gave Pettigrew a couple of bites right into his face, knowing that the evil wizard would not survive them.

Realising in amusement that Voldemort and his Death Eaters were still discussing what might have happened to him, he quickly flashed back to Hogsmeade, where his whole family was gathered in front of the Three Broomsticks.

HP

Harry swiftly transformed back into his human form and stood next to a sobbing Gabi, gently laying his arm around her shoulders.

"'Arry!" she shouted in apparent relief, before Harry felt himself being pulled into a bear hug.

"Voldemort is back," he informed Amelia, who was standing on his other side. "He did some ritual, oh, Pettigrew did it for him, but he shouldn't be alive anymore. Anyway, Voldemort is back and has just gathered his Death Eaters around him."

"Where are they?" Amelia asked, urgently.

"I don't know," Harry admitted. "Some kind of graveyard I think, but that's all I know."

Suddenly, all attention was diverted to Susan, who let out a loud gasp upon seeing his injury.

"Show me that arm," she demanded and quickly cast a small series of healing spells.

"Thanks Susan," Harry replied, smiling, as his sister proficiently healed his arm. "It was not a big deal."

He answered a couple more questions for Amelia and her Aurors, before Lily ushered him in the direction of Hogwarts, stating that he should go home for the time being.

"Mum, sorry, but I'd like to spend some more time with my girlfriend," Harry replied, grinning broadly, as he slowly turned to Gabi and, locking his eyes with hers to require her approval, he gently pressed his lips against hers and kissed her – to huge applause from his siblings.

"Are you sure that you're all right?" Lily asked in apparent concern. "You can always bring your girlfriend home you know," she added upon seeing him smile.

"Thanks Mum," Harry replied in a soft voice. "I'll do that at the next opportunity. I'll see you all at dinner time."

"Harry," he heard a voice, which he certainly did not wish to hear at that time, causing him to turn around in frustration.

"Harry, please come to see me in my office right after dinner," the headmaster instructed him in a firm voice.

"Yes sir," Harry replied, before he demonstratively led Gabi away from the group, noticing as they went that he felt famished.

"Do you want to go to ze coffee shop again?" Gabi suggested, and Harry gratefully agreed.

HP

All of a sudden, Tom could feel happiness. ' _Why am I so happy?_ ' he wondered for a while before finally realising that it was not his own happiness.

 _'Oh no, I'm getting the thoughts and feelings of that other part of myself,'_ he thought, feeling absolutely horrified at the idea.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please be so kind and feed my muse - you really help me write on better and faster by your kind comments. Any opinions or ideas and criticism are very welcome._


	30. Fight of a Horcrux

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

Harry was sitting at the Gryffindor table next to his siblings, seething in anger. _'What does the old coot want now? Tell me 'I told you so!'?'_ he wondered. _'As if my day hadn't been bad enough with being captured and having to watch Voldemort's return.'_

"Harry, don't let the old coot get to you," Susan whispered, while Neville unobtrusively approached Lily at the high table.

"I know," Harry replied, dully, only looking up, when his mother's voice penetrated his ears.

"Harry, I'm coming with you," Lily stated, causing Harry to inwardly sigh in relief.

"Thanks Mum," he uttered, when they walked up to the headmaster's office together.

"Don't let anything he'll tell you get to you, Harry," Lily instructed him. "You did everything right today, and your father and I are very proud of you."

Harry smiled happily, only adjusting his features to the former dull expression, when they entered the old wizard's office.

HP

"Harry, my boy," the headmaster greeted him, appearing not too pleased by Lily's presence, before he waved his hand to offer them seats. "Please tell me exactly what happened."

"I already told you what happened, together with everyone else," Harry replied, feeling very much reassured by his mother's presence.

Dumbledore let out a deep sigh. "Harry, how exactly did you kill Peter Pettigrew?" he then enquired.

 _'Oh no, he can't know that I'm an Animagus,'_ Harry thought and replied, "I'm sorry, but that's for me to know and for you to hopefully never find out."

"I'm sure that the Aurors will ask you the same thing," Dumbledore said in a stern voice.

"Amelia Bones knows," Harry replied, simply.

"Then there should be no problem telling me," the old wizard said in his grandfatherly voice that annoyed Harry more than anything Dumbledore could say to him.

"Dumbledore, leave Harry in peace," Salazar spoke up from Godric's portrait, where he stood next to the other founder.

"Our great grandson did a wonderful job today," Godric added, glaring at his successor as headmaster.

"He killed another wizard," Dumbledore said, grimly. "Harry, my boy, why did you kill Peter Pettigrew? You can't simply kill other human beings."

"Because he was a threat to my family," Harry replied in a firm voice. "If not for Salazar and my Mum, my parents would be dead because of him, none of my siblings would exist and neither would Neville's. He abducted me and took my blood to resurrect Voldemort. I killed him, before he could further harm my family."

"If not for you, Harry, I wouldn't have succeeded saving Dad and myself," Lily spoke up, sternly. "Never forget that, my child. You saved all of us."

The headmaster – unaware as he was about the happenings of that fateful Halloween – was shaking his head in apparent despair.

Not minding the old wizard, neither his mother's interruption, Harry continued, "I would have also killed Voldemort at the same time if not for the Horcruxes."

Dumbledore looked up in obvious shock. "Horcruxes?" he enquired, incredulously.

Harry let out a long sigh, casting a helpless look at the founders' portrait.

"Let's say that Harry knew that he wouldn't have been able to kill him," Lily spoke up, sounding annoyed. "And now we'd like to leave, as this conversation doesn't seem to lead anywhere."

"Yes yes, you may go," Dumbledore replied, letting out a sigh of utter defeat.

"I agree. Harry did everything right today, and he should not be accused of things but commended for enduring what he did," another stern voice spoke up.

"Sopho!" Dumbledore blurted out in apparent shock, as everyone's attention became diverted to the Sorting Hat.

"Thanks Sopho," Harry replied and smiled at the old artefact, causing Dumbledore to stare at him in apparent disbelief at the communication of the Hat with a mere fourth-year student.

HP

The extended family spent the rest of the evening at home. Everyone was still shocked about Harry's abduction and the return of Voldemort and concerned about the fact that Amelia had told them Fudge did not believe that Voldemort had returned.

"How thick is he?" Sirius blurted out, staring at Amelia in apparent disbelief.

"Very," Amelia replied in a grave voice. "Perhaps we should consider a no-confidence-vote at the next Wizengamot session."

"We'll do that," James spoke up, reassuringly, while Sirius nodded his agreement.

"At least the reporters heard what we told them right after Harry separated from us, so that it'll be all over the newspapers tomorrow morning," Amelia said, contentedly.

With Lily's approval, Harry had not only brought Gabi with him but also her older sister and her parents, and he happily spent the time sitting on the sofa with his girlfriend leaning into his embrace.

To his relief, his parents, godparents and aunt and uncles seemed to approve of his choice of girlfriend, just like younger siblings, and the baby quartet seemed to outright adore Gabi.

Her father was the French Minister of Magic, and he listened with apparent interest, when Amelia and Regulus told everyone how the Unspeakables and a large group of Aurors and Hitwizards had been able to catch many Death Eaters, even if, unfortunately, Voldemort had been able to flee.

"Pettigrew was indeed dead," Amelia informed Harry with a small smile playing on her lips. "While I'd have liked to question him, it's comforting that he won't be a threat anymore."

"Oh by the way," Sirius spoke up, smirking, "we've made a plan what to do about Tom Gaunt. David," he addressed his second godson, "would you be willing to lead us into the Gaunt house next Saturday?"

"Of course," David replied, smiling. "Are you going to kill him?" he then enquired, uncertain if he really wanted that. _'He was really nice to me,'_ he thought, absentmindedly cuddling Anni close, who was sitting on his lap.

"No, we won't kill him," Sirius reassured him, shaking his head in confirmation. "He won't be able to do magic afterwards though."

"David, please write to him and tell him that you'll be able to go home for the weekend and ask if it would be all right to come home on Saturday morning," James advised his son, who immediately agreed and went to his room to fetch parchment and a quill.

"We also need to kill Nagini," Regulus spoke up once David returned to the parlour. "She's Voldemort's last remaining Horcrux."

David let out a long sigh. "Nagini is often around, as she's Mahoni's best friend. Mahoni is Tom Gaunt's familiar," he added an explanation. _'I like her though,'_ he thought, while the adults proceeded to make plans of not only making Tom a Squib but also getting rid of the last Horcrux at the same time.

"Regulus and Harry," Salazar suddenly spoke up from the portrait, "please join me in the dining room of Slytherin Manor, where we can speak in private for a moment.

HP

Exchanging a surprised look, Regulus and Harry stepped into the dining room of the Slytherin half of their home, where Salazar motioned for them to take seats.

"Regulus," Salazar addressed the older wizard, "I believe that Harry is exactly the right person for the Unspeakables. Don't you think so? Unlike any other wizard in your time, he stood up to Voldemort."

Regulus nodded in understanding. "Yes sir, I agree. Having him with us would be a huge asset to the Unspeakables. However, the problem is that Harry is still at school and that he has a large family. His siblings at least would notice if he was away for let's say an hour every day, and, as you might not know, Unspeakables must remain secret. I know that in my case, the extended family knows about it, but I wouldn't want to endanger Harry like that."

Salazar scoffed. "Don't you think they'd keep Harry a secret just like they're doing with you?"

"Probably yes," Regulus admitted. "Harry, what do you think?"

Harry remained thoughtful for a moment, before he explained, "As you know, I'm just working for the Potions Mastery, plus I'm teaching the first through third-years, so besides classes I don't really have much time. On the other hand, I'd love to receive as much training as possible, considering that Voldemort is going to come after me again for sure. It probably would be amazing to become an Unspeakable."

"Lily can teach her own classes, and it doesn't matter when you take the mastery exam," Salazar replied, matter-of-factly. "You could simply take, for example, Friday afternoons off for the Unspeakable training. As far as I know, there are no classes on Friday afternoons, is that correct?"

"Yes," Harry confirmed, "or maybe some, but I don't have any. Friday afternoon would be a good time."

"I'll speak to Croaker on Monday morning," Regulus promised. "If he's interested, he'll have to assess Harry sometime and see if he matches the requirements, before Harry can decide if he wishes to become an Unspeakable. The training is extremely hard, Harry, but it shouldn't be a problem for you."

 _'I'd like that,_ ' Harry thought. _'As much as I love to brew potions, I'm not sure if I'd want to do that my whole life.'_

HP

When Tom read the newspaper while having breakfast early on Monday morning, he stared at the Daily Prophet in shock. A huge picture of what seemed to be his older self, surrounded by a group of Death Eaters covered the front page.

 _'Oh Merlin, he's just like Ginny told me, gathering his minions to do evil things,'_ he thought in disgust, regretting that he had not gotten rid of him, while he was a small creature. _'I'm going to kill him,_ ' he resolved, ' _before he starts another war. If he went his own ways and left me in peace, it would be something else, but as it seems, he's going to have all the purebloods cower before him and wipe his arse in spite of being a half-blood himself. I like the wizarding world as it is now, and once I gain everyone's trust in the ministry, I'm going to move up to higher positions. Ten years at the most before I'm going to be the Minister of Magic.'_

Tom noticed, contentedly, that Nagini and Mahoni were busying themselves in the attic of his house doing what he really did not want to know. He cast a series of silencing and disillusioning charms on himself, before he crept out of the house and into the old Riddle Manor, noticing that that the first weak sunrays already appeared on the horizon.

Listening intensely for any noise possibly coming from any of his other self's followers, Tom relaxed. _'No one seems to be here, and hopefully, he's still asleep,_ ' he thought, as he carefully explored the house. When he hesitantly entered Voldemort's bedroom, he smiled. _'He's asleep,'_ he thought, gleefully, only to sober right away, as he recalled how he could sense the other's feelings and thoughts. ' _Maybe he can sense me, too_ ,' he thought and quickly cast a strong stunning spell at the older wizard, sighing in relief, when the man remained unmoving. _'Whatever ritual he used, he looks disgusting,_ ' he thought, eyeing the man in front of him in abhorrence.

' _Now what?_ ' he thought, wondering how he was going to kill his other self. Not sure if the killing curse would trigger anything that was going to notice him, he cast a couple of harmless yet dark spells that together finally killed the evil wizard.

With a combination of relief and horror, Tom observed how the dead wizard's body instantly vanished from the sight. ' _What happened now?_ ' he wondered, when a horrible realisation came to mind. ' _His soul has probably just occupied another Horcrux, causing his dead body to simply vanish for good. Oh no, I hadn't expected that he made more than the diary, when I didn't find any others at Hogwarts.'_

He quickly fled from the now vacant room and returned home, where he got ready for work and a day as normal as possible. Somehow, he could sense his other self's anger and groaned in annoyance at his own carelessness. _'I should have more thoroughly checked if he's got other Horcruxes beforehand,'_ he thought, before he apparated to the Ministry of Magic.

HP

When Harry returned home alone on Monday evening, Lily looked up in surprise. However, Regulus seemed to have expected him and immediately addressed her son.

"Harry, do you have a free period or a class, which you can skip, tomorrow morning?"

Harry thought for a moment, before he replied, "I have Transfiguration first, and then, I have to teach double Potions for the third-years."

"Harry, I can teach the third-years tomorrow," Lily spoke up in a soft voice. She had no idea what this was about, but she fully trusted both her son and Regulus. "I'm sure that Minerva would not mind if you missed one Transfiguration class if necessary."

"Of course not. Harry is already advanced enough to take his NEWT right away," Minerva spoke up, casting Lily a surprised look.

"Thank you, Mum and Granny," Harry replied, smiling.

"Very well, I shall take you with me in the morning then," Regulus decided. "Can you come home just before eight o'clock?"

"I'll be here," Harry promised and happily returned to the castle, before his siblings and classmates and, above all, his girl-friend would miss him.

To Harry's relief, his classmates did not object, when he asked if he could bring Gabriele with him to the study room after their Hogsmeade visit. From that time onwards, Gabi joined him and his classmates every evening after dinner, and she soon became a member of his extended family.

HP

During the night, Tom was engrossed in a strange dream. Mahoni and Nagini had a whole bunch of babies, and his bedroom was full of snakes slithering all around his bed. Suddenly, Nagini raised her head onto his bed and hissed at him.

"How dare you murder me? You will pay for that. You're no more than one of my Horcruxes."

With that, his dream ended.

HP

Harry felt extremely excited, when Regulus, who was wearing his Unspeakable robes, apparated him right into the Department of the Unspeakables and led him into the head's office.

"Good morning, Croaker," he greeted the older wizard, "This is Harry. Harry, this is Croaker, our head Unspeakable.

Croaker rose from his chair and offered a hand to him. "Hello Harry. First of all, I am the only one who knows about the identity of our fellow Unspeakables. You must wear your robes and hood at all times, except for when you're only together with Unspeakable Raros or myself. Only if you get to know a teammate well enough to completely trust him or her, you may reveal who you are. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied in understanding.

"Now, we shall provide robes for you and then introduce you to Demon. He's our trainer, and he will do an assessment test with you."

"Excuse me, sir," Harry hesitantly spoke up, "will he keep what magic I use for himself? Like, for example, wandless magic or my Animagus form and such?"

Croaker looked at him in apparent surprise. "You're already capable of wandless magic, and you're an Animagus?" he enquired, wide-eyed.

Regulus scoffed. "Did you think I bring just anyone here? I told you he's perfect for us."

"Very well, and yes Harry, Demon will keep everything from everyone but myself. I hope that's all right with you."

"Of course, sir," Harry replied, smiling _. 'He seems really nice,'_ he thought, looking forward to having a chance to prove himself.

HP

A few minutes and a trip to the storage room, where Harry received his own grey Unspeakable robes, later, Harry was introduced to Demon, the trainer, who was an older wizard and seemed very grumpy.

"Hello Newbie," he addressed him, explaining, "until you prove yourself and receive a proper Unspeakable name, I'm going to call you that. Now, this is our training room, which works like the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts. I suppose you're familiar with it?" When Harry nodded, he continued, "You will have to undergo several training scenes in this room, where you have to fight in different scenarios. Please note that all persons in the scenarios except for myself and maybe a few others are unreal. Don't hesitate to use all you have in your fights. If someone casts the killing curse at you, use the same to retaliate. The real ones of us will be able to properly protect ourselves."

"All right," Harry replied, feeling his stomach churn at the idea of killing anyone else. _'Bad enough that I had to kill Pettigrew, but he was too much a danger for my family to leave him alive,'_ he thought, warily eyeing the trainer.

All of a sudden, the room changed to what looked like the Forbidden Forest.

Soon enough, curses began to fly in his direction. He could not see his opponents, but he saw the curses and tried his best to dodge, before he decided to build up a shield. Putting as much magic as he could into a shield, he noticed in relief that the curses and spells were absorbed by the shield. It only lasted for about a minute, however, before his shield crashed and he had to dodge again.

He was already panting, trying to catch his breath, when the scenery changed to a simple field, and Demon was standing in front of him.

"Do you only learn first-year spells at Hogwarts?" the older wizard sneered. "Your magic is fairly strong for your age, but you need to use more difficult spells and put your magic into it. Casting spells in a fight is about intent and willpower."

Without further forewarning, the trainer began to cast one spell after the next at Harry, who was upset enough at the man to toy with the idea of transforming into a dragon and blow fire at the older wizard. However, he dismissed the idea and resolved to keep up a shield while wandlessly casting some more harmful spells that Salazar had taught him over the years. Part of them were Parseltongue spells, however, Harry did not mind revealing his abilities to Demon, instinctively knowing that he could trust the Unspeakable, as grumpy as he might be.

The tests continued in multiple scenarios, before Demon finally ended the session and beckoned him into Croaker's office, where Raros was waiting for him, engrossed in a conversation with the head Unspeakable.

"The newbie is adequate," Demon informed Croaker. "He has much power, but he doesn't use it to retaliate, and he's not able to use the Unforgivables yet."

"Well, that's nothing that can't be remedied," Croaker replied, pleasantly, looking from Demon to Harry.

"Newbie," he directly addressed Harry, "are you still willing to become an Unspeakable and undergo training with Demon?"

"Yes please," Harry replied in a firm voice, thinking, _'I need to get as good as I can to fight Voldemort.'_ Knowing that Demon could not know who he was, he refrained from voicing his thought.

He was dismissed with the instruction to come to the Unspeakables department for training every Saturday and Sunday morning at eight o'clock.

"Usually, we don't work during the weekends if not for emergencies, but since you're still at school, we'll do so until the summer holidays," Croaker informed him, only to add, "We'll think of a fitting name for you during the next couple of weekends."

"Don't worry, Harry," Regulus told him, once they were back at home, "they both don't have family and are in the office most weekends anyway. No need to feel bad about it."

"Thanks," Harry replied, feeling extremely relieved at the revelation. "Does Demon have his name because of his behaviour?" he could not refrain from asking, causing Regulus to chuckle.

"Well, he's strict, but if you get to know him better, you'll love him. He's absolutely the best trainer we could wish for," the older Unspeakable told him.

HP

On Friday morning, Tom Gaunt's vulture brought a letter for David.

 _'To Desmond Gaunt,  
I received your letter. I have no clue what you wish to accomplish. I am sure, however, that I have not fathered any children. I am not Tom Gaunt but Lord Voldemort. If you wish to join my Death Eaters, feel free to visit on Saturday.  
Lord Voldemort'_

' _What?'_ David thought in bewilderment and quickly showed his letter to Niamh and Aidan, who were sitting on both sides of him.

"Show that to James, when you're going to assist him in the afternoon," Niamh instructed him, and David nodded in understanding.

 _'How strange,_ ' he thought, wondering what might have happened to the man, who had tried to be a father to him during the last summer.

He looked up in surprise, as a huge gasp spread over the Great Hall, when one of the first-years, who entered the Great Hall, was followed not only by Ginny and Myrtle but also by three serpents, a large snake trailed by two smaller ones.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Please be so kind and again feed my muse to help me keep up with this story. Any opinions or ideas and criticism are very welcome._


	31. The Third Task

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

 _'Is that Mahoni?_ ' David wondered in surprise upon recognising the largest of the three animals. "Mahoni?" he hissed, tentatively, only to add in a small voice, "What happened?"

"Bad thingssss happened, young Massster," Mahoni replied. "Your father killed the evil Dark Lord. His sssspirit possessssed my beloved Nagini, and she killed your father, before she died, when the Dark Lord abandoned her body and took your father'sss. I fled togezzzer with my children. Can you keep usss here in safety, Massster?"

David glanced from the serpents to his siblings, inwardly sighing in relief upon realising that not only Harry was sitting nearby and had heard everything, but that his mother was heading towards him.

"Hello Mahoni, I am David'ssss mother," she introduced herself and informed the snakes, "we'll take you to the Chamber of Secretssss, where our basilisk Amaterasu livesss. I'm sure that she won't mind sharing her territory with you and your children."

"Another sssspeaker," Mahoni hissed in apparent pleasure before enquiring, "Will my young massster be able to visit ussss there?"

"Yesss, our whole family will visit you, and David'sss brother and sissster are also able to communicate with you," his mother assured the serpents, which were looking at her in clear expectation.

Harry rose from his chair, and David swiftly followed his example. "Shall we go then?" he suggested, and seeing Lily nod, headed out of the Great Hall, letting out a relieved sigh, when the three snakes followed him on his foot together with his mother and brother.

Ginny and Myrtle floated ahead, accompanying the group to the formerly haunted bathroom, which the ghost had given up in favour of roaming the whole castle.

While Lily and Harry usually preferred to visit Salazar's chamber through the entrance within the founders' quarters, they wanted to neither lead the snakes into their private rooms nor the ghosts.

 _'It always pains me if I see Ginny,_ ' Harry thought, as he absentmindedly opened the Chamber of Secrets. _'I should have been able to help her, before it was too late. Oh well, at least she seems really happy playing pranks on the whole school together with Myrtle,'_ he told himself, recalling how the two girls had cast the Fidelius charm on the Divination classroom a few days ago. Apparently, Trelawney had not been able to predict the matter, and it had taken the teachers two days to find out what had happened.

HP

"So much about our plans concerning Tom Gaunt and the last Horcrux," Regulus muttered upon hearing the news, when David and his siblings returned home shortly before curfew.

"Can I visit Mahoni wif Dabid?" Anni enquired, as she raised both hands towards her adored brother to have him pick her up.

"We can visit the snakes during the weekend," David promised, gently cuddling the two-year-old close.

HP

The day of the third task began bright and sunny, and Harry decided to secretly watch the tournament only together with Gabi. Knowing that his sister was going to worry like she had done during the second task and that she was especially jumpy ever since his abduction to the graveyard, he informed her beforehand, asking her to keep the matter to herself.

"You know that I'll keep it to myself," Susan replied, indignantly. "I wish you good luck trying to keep her here after the tournament."

"Thank you," Harry replied, sincerely, letting out a deep sigh. "I intend to talk to her today."

During the third task, the three champions had to climb onto a specific part of the Hogwarts roof to grab a trophy, which had been placed onto the roof. In fact, Minerva had asked him, on behalf of Percy Weasley, if he would be so kind and transform into his phoenix form to place the trophy onto the roof, so that the ministry employee would not have to climb the not easily accessible roof.

 _'What if I was a champion?'_ Harry wondered. _'Would they still ask me to do such a thing?'_ He did not protest, however, knowing that Percy had merely asked Minerva for advice, and she had offered his assistance, knowing that it was easy for him. Apparently, the organisers of the tournament had intended to use the Quidditch pitch for the third task, however, since Harry had not allowed them to do so and insisted that the students should be able to play Quidditch, they had to change their plans.

After placing the trophy, he had taken some time to thoroughly explore the roof and had prepared a small garden on the roof for him and Gabi to sit and enjoy a picnic while observing the third task unseen by any of the champions.

HP

"Gabi," Harry hesitantly began to ask what was at the forefront of his mind, when they had made themselves comfortable in his small roof garden. "Would you perhaps be willing to consider remaining at Hogwarts instead of returning to Beauxbatons?"

To his surprise, Gabrielle returned a broad smile.

"'Arry, I've already spoken wiz Maman and Dad, and zey promised to speak wiz Professor Maxime and Professor Dumbledore, so zat I can continue my studies at 'Ogwarts," she finally replied, causing Harry to sigh in relief.

"Gabi, you're the best," he mumbled, before he pulled her into a passionate kiss.

"I know," his girlfriend returned, smirking, before she let out a small hiss of excitement. "Oh look, ma Fleur est arrivée."

Just when the French champion was about to reach for the trophy, Harry cancelled the concealment charm around them for the time being and whispered, "Congratulations Fleur!"

"Fleur, you're ze best!" Gabi added.

Fleur almost fell from the roof in apparent surprise, however, managed to catch herself and grab the trophy.

"Zank you dears," she replied, before she was whisked away.

HP

It was two days later, when Fleur came around to say good-bye to Harry during breakfast in the Great Hall, that she told him that the headmaster had not allowed Gabi to transfer to Hogwarts.

"What?" Harry shouted in disbelief. "Where's Gabi now?" he demanded to know.

"She's in 'er room wiz my parents," Fleur informed him. "We're leaving tomorrow morning. She 'as been crying for two days now."

"Why didn't she come to see me?" Harry asked, incredulously. "I was wondering where she was. Please take me to her."

Together with Fleur, Harry entered the Beauxbatons carriage, glad that the winner of the tournament took him straight to her parents' rooms. "Shall I call Professor Maxime, too?" she asked.

"Please do so," Harry replied in a soft voice, before he stepped over to Gabi and pulled her into a gentle hug.

Only when Fleur arrived with the Beauxbatons headmistress, did he release his girlfriend and spoke up in a firm voice.

"Maybe you are not aware of this, but I am the owner of Hogwarts." Due to the fact that everyone but Fleur stared at him upon hearing this, he realised that the visiting schools had not known about the matter. "As such," he continued, "I am able to override the headmaster's decisions."

Turning to Gabrielle, he added, "Of course you may transfer to Hogwarts and continue your studies here if that's what you wish to do."

Gabi cast him a hopeful look. "I wish to continue my studies at 'Ogwarts," she replied in a firm voice.

"I don't 'ave a problem wiz zis," Madame Maxime spoke up, handing Harry two pieces of parchment. "Will you please sign ze transfer parchments for us?"

"Of course," Harry promised and quickly signed the parchments, before Gabi captured him in a bear hug.

"I zink," Fleur suddenly spoke up, "zat Gabi needs to practise some English before studying at 'Ogwarts."

While Gabi released Harry to glare at her older sister, Harry turned to the Delacours and invited the whole family to visit the Slytherins at Gryffindor Manor during the month of August. "I'm going to be quite busy with studying for my Potions mastery as well as some other training, but we can at least spend some hours together each day, and the rest of my family will have more time," he added, quietly.

"Zat's fine wiz me," Gabi replied, smiling.

"Monsieur Potter, we gladly accept ze invitation," her father, whom Harry knew to be the French Minister of Magic, replied in a firm voice.

"And we are looking forward to it," his wife added, smiling.

"If you need anything else concerning the transfer, Professor McGonagall will be much more forthcoming than the headmaster," Harry voiced, before he returned to the castle, glad when his girlfriend followed him.

HP

At the same time, the baby quartet was quietly playing in the combined parlour of Gryffindor and Slytherin manor, when Remus noticed that Therese, the two-year-old daughter of Amelia and Sirius, was spiking a high fever.

"Anni caw Pewenelle?" little Annette offered; in fact, the little girl was very fond of the old healer.

However, Remus declined. "Thank you, Anni, but I know for a fact that Perenelle and Nicholas are on holidays," he replied, letting out a deep sigh. "Will the three of you continue playing here, so that I can quickly take Therese to Madam Pomfrey?" he enquired. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"'Kay," Anni promised, smiling at Remus, whom she liked very much. "I pwomise," she added, convincingly, before she turned her attention back to the magical picture book, which she was just exploring.

Unfortunately, her younger siblings were not so obedient, however, Anni was completely engrossed in her book and only noticed what her siblings were doing, when Cian and Amelie began to shout and laugh aloud.

 _'They're flying on brooms here in the Parlour?'_ she thought, incredulously, only then realising that a third broom was invitingly lying next to her on the sofa. She was still contemplating if she should join the others, when Cian let out a small scream and crashed into the floor with a thud.

 _'Oh no,'_ Anni thought, horrified, when her great grandparents in the painting began to scold Cian and Amelie.

"His arm seems to be broken," Helga spoke up, giving her younger brother a sharp look.

 _'She's a healer, and we need her now!'_ Anni thought, almost panicking at the thought of the pain Cian seemed to be in and the anger that Remus would display upon hearing what had happened.

"Granny Helga, pwease come and hewp Cian!" she shouted, putting as much magic into the order as she could.

While Anni collapsed on the sofa in exhaustion, Helga climbed out of the painting and with a flick of her wand healed Cian's arm, before she cast a spell at her youngest great granddaughter that replenished her magic at least enough for her to wake up.

When Anni's mind returned to awareness, her great grandmother was sitting on the sofa next to her.

"Fanks Gwanny fow coming," she said, noticing in relief that Cian's crying had stopped.

"Anni, you're just amazing," Helga replied, smiling. "I've never heard of anyone who was able to call people out of paintings. Leave it to you to do such an unheard thing."

Anni smiled, before she let out a huge yawn and, cuddled against Helga, fell back to sleep.

"Now put these brooms away," Helga ordered the two little ones, just before Remus returned and stared at the ancient witch in apparent shock.

By the time Anni woke up again, Helga had long returned to her painting. "Hewga gone again?" she blurted out, staring at the painting, wide-eyed.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," Helga replied in a soft voice. "About an hour after you called me out of the painting, I was sucked back into it. I'm sorry dear. It was a nice adventure though."

"Anni," Remus spoke up in a strict voice. "You did very well, but please don't call people out of paintings if there's not an emergency. Do you understand me? Your body is still too small to handle such an immense amount of magic."

Anni nodded, sincerely. "Yes, I undewstand," she confirmed, making a mental note to try if she could always call people out of paintings sometime. ' _Soon I'll be three and a big girl,'_ she thought, happily.

HP

"I believe that it's time to have a trial against Dumbledore," James growled upon hearing how the headmaster had refused Gabi to transfer to Hogwarts. "He has manipulated us one too many times."

"I can arrange for a trial," Amelia offered. "We should all work together on making a list of his crimes though."

"That's easy," Lily spoke up and began to list up, "Taking Harry to the Dursleys, stealing money from his vault, trying to make a betrothal contract for him, doing nothing when Voldemort's Horcrux was behind his scar, allowing Voldemort into Hogwarts in Harry's first year, in his second year, having a Death Eater put Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire. What else do we need?" she asked, sounding angry.

"Refusing my girlfriend to transfer to Hogwarts," Harry spoke up, grimly. "Also trying to keep me from the Hogsmeade visits, although Hogwarts is not a bit safer than Hogsmeade," he added, feeling extremely upset towards the old wizard. "He even tried to prevent me from making the study rooms, and…" He slowly trailed off, only to add, "The only good thing is that we can override his decisions anyway."

"What exactly do you want?" Amelia enquired. "Do you want him to be put into Azkaban, or do you just want him to be gone from Hogwarts?"

Feeling everyone's eyes on himself, Harry let out a deep sigh. "He's not evil like Voldemort," he finally said, "and as long as Voldemort is still around, it might not be bad to have him around, too. It would greatly help if he wasn't the headmaster any longer."

Amelia nodded in understanding. "Then we'll try for that."

"Maybe a Wizengamot meeting might be more efficient than a trial?" Regulus spoke up, pensively.

"Rubbish!" Salazar suddenly bellowed from the painting. "Harry is the owner of Hogwarts. He can simply dismiss the headmaster and install a new one. Why would you need a meeting of the Wizengamot for that?" he asked, incredulously.

"Oh right," Harry was the first to respond, chuckling. "How am I going to do that though? Go to his office and tell him to leave?"

"I'm sure that'll be well accepted," Lily added, chuckling as well, before she turned to Minerva, giving her a questioning look.

The deputy headmistress let out a deep sigh. "First of all," she slowly began to speak, "I believe that it would be wise to wait until after the end of year feast tomorrow. You could give him a month to clear his office and – provided that he's willing to do so – work in his successor. Before dismissing him, it would be wise to have someone at hand, whom you wish to become the new headmaster or headmistress of course."

"Granny, would you be willing to become the new headmistress?" Harry asked, promptly, causing the adults, who were following the conversation, to nod their heads in approval.

Minerva remained quiet for a moment, letting her eyes wander over the adults present, before she refused. "I will not let you down, Harry, but if possible, I'd prefer remaining the Transfiguration professor and deputy headmistress."

"Harry!" Godric called out from the painting. "Why don't you give Dumbledore three more years, so that you can become his successor as headmaster, two years if you wish to take your NEWTs early."

"I agree," Rowena voiced, causing all the adults present to nod in confirmation.

 _'Do I want to become the headmaster?'_ Harry questioned himself, only to think, ' _Well, it would give me time to deal with the students myself. I'd also be free to join the Unspeakables without having to consider class times or whatever, and I'd still be able to teach the occasional class if a teacher is unavailable for some reason.'_

Aloud he said, "I can imagine becoming the headmaster, although I'm probably going to handle it very differently from the old coot."

"That will be highly appreciated," Godric spoke up, causing everyone to laugh and adjourn the conversation.

HP

At the beginning of the holidays, Harry made a detailed plan to use his time most efficiently. _'After training, I won't be able to brew, even if I'm not hurt, so I'll need to study for the Potions Mastery in the mornings,_ ' he thought. Knowing that Gabi, just like Susan and Neville, liked to sleep in every morning, he spent three hours in the Potions lab before joining everyone else for breakfast in the dining room.

He thoroughly enjoyed spending an hour with his family and his girlfriend, before he flashed himself into the Unspeakables' office, where he quickly transformed, careful to not be seen by anyone. _'It's time that they teach me to apparate,_ ' he thought, when he entered the training room.

"Newbie," Demon greeted him, grumpy as ever, and made Harry watch the training of the others for a moment, before he called for a break.

"I have decided on a name for you," he informed Harry. "You'll be Serpent. I've added you to team five. Besides Raros, its members are Ra, Meta and Mento. Ra is the leader of team five, and you are to follow his instructions. Clear?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied, sincerely, feeling elevated to officially belong to a team of Unspeakables. _'I just hope they're as nice as everyone else here,_ ' he thought.

From that day onwards, Harry had training sessions together with his team mates on a daily basis. He realised soon that their team leader, Ra, was a very old wizard. _'Maybe he's not as old as Dumbledore, but he's quite old, very strict but nice though,'_ he thought. Mento seemed to be about the age of his parents, and Meta was a young woman. Harry quickly got to like all three of them, and he would not have minded telling them who he was, however, he decided to wait for the more experienced Unspeakables to make the first move.

During the first week of the holidays, Harry was taught to apparate and to send a Patronus.

"It's very important that you perfect both," Ra informed him. "Whenever you see or are in trouble, you must send a Patronus to the team and to Croaker immediately. If you receive a Patronus that team 5 is supposed to get somewhere quickly, you need to be able to apparate there right away."

Neither Apparition nor the Patronus was difficult for Harry, and by the end of the week neither were a topic anymore.

"They're all really nice; Ra gives me the impression as if he knew who I was," Harry said to Regulus one evening, causing the older wizard to chuckle.

"I'm sure he knows," he replied in apparent amusement. "He's a bit like Dumbledore in that hindsight, even if completely different. I could tell you that he's a relative of mine, even of you in a wide sense, but you won't be able to guess, as he's supposed to be dead, just like Mento."

While Harry stared at Regulus, wide-eyed, Amelia spoke up in clear amusement. "It seems that Lily, James and Regulus are not the only ones who used the first war to make themselves new identities."

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter_


	32. Exams

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

"James, are you sure that we should join the Order of the Phoenix again? After all that Dumbledore did to us, respectively to Harry…" Lily slowly trailed off, giving her husband a questioning look.

James remained pensive for a moment, putting his book onto his night table, before he admitted, "I'm not sure. Have you asked Remus and Sirius? Severus will need to join, as Dumbledore still isn't aware of the fact that he doesn't have the Dark Mark anymore. Regulus is supposed to be dead, so he won't have to join. Amelia might join as an Auror, and Marlene as his Defence Against the Dark Arts professor will surely be expected to join, just like Minerva.

"I'm not sure," Lily replied, thoughtfully. "Does he know who Marlene really is?"

"I don't have a clue," James admitted. "Dumbledore is so obsessed with Harry, for whatever reason, that he seems to not care much about everyone else."

"Maybe it's better to go along with the Order of the Phoenix, so that we know what he's planning," Lily thought aloud, causing James to slowly nod in understanding.

"Yeah, maybe we should do that then," he agreed, "or at least I should. I don't want you to have to go on any dangerous missions. I'd prefer having you at home. Anni needs you there."

"Anni," Lily repeated, sighing. "I already thought Harry was bad, considering that he's been beyond NEWT levels in most subjects for about two years, and David won't be much different soon, but Anni is completely beyond good and bad. According to Sal, she's the most powerful witch since Morgan le Fay."

"Harry is extremely powerful, too," James replied, yawning. "Did Regulus tell you that they've already accepted him as a proper Unspeakable?"

Lily nodded, before she noxed the lights and turned around to face the window in front of the balcony that allowed the view onto the beach and the sea. "Good night, dear," she said in a soft voice.

"Night Lils," James murmured, already drifting off to sleep.

HP

Apart from Regulus, all male adults from the extended family entered the Order of the Phoenix.

"I'm glad that you're willing to join as well as Molly Weasley," the headmaster said to his deputy, when they were waiting in his office for the members of the Order to arrive.

"Why should I not?" Minerva enquired, "considered that I don't have young children of my own."

"I'd have expected Elisabeth, Marlene and Alice Longbottom to join as well," Albus replied, somehow sounding like a small child in Minerva's ears.

 _'Isn't it obvious why they're not joining?'_ Minerva thought in disbelief, before she decided to not hold back her opinion.

"They have small children, plus you didn't really make them trust you considering what you did to young Harry," she replied in a no-nonsense voice. "You can be glad that they didn't put you on trial, at least not yet," she added as an afterthought.

"Why would they do such a thing?" Albus asked in apparent disbelief. "I only did what was for the Greater Good."

Minerva let out a snort, glad when Amelia chose that moment to step out of the fireplace, followed closely by Kingsley Shacklebolt and Ex-Auror Moody. During the next few minutes, all the members of the Order of the Phoenix arrived, and Albus called the meeting to order by asking if anyone was aware of a better location for their meetings.

 _'If he so insists that Harry has to kill Voldemort, he should at least have him attend the meetings in spite of only being fifteen,'_ Minerva thought, shaking her head in disapproval as she followed the Marauders home to Gryffindor Manor, as soon as the meeting was adjourned. James and Sirius had pleaded with the old wizard to allow Harry into the Order of the Phoenix, and the headmaster had seemingly pondered the matter, when Mrs. Weasley had spoken up, demanding that if Harry became a member, her under-age sons should be allowed the same. _'Stupid witch,'_ she thought in annoyance. _'Her sons don't do anything but mischief and aren't trained like Harry at all.'_

HP

It was in the evening of Anni's third birthday, when the whole family was gathered in the combined parlour for a birthday party, that Harry and Regulus suddenly received a Patronus from Mento.

 _'The Burrow is under attack. Team 5 help!'_

"Tell the adults that the Burrow is being attacked," Harry whispered to David, who was just climbing through the jungle, which the adults had made for the children to play in the parlour of Slytherin Manor, with him and Anni. "I need to leave," he added, before he apparated right into his room, donned his Unspeakable robes and headed for the Burrow, where he arrived after his four team colleagues, who were already engrossed in a fight with seven or eight Death Eaters.

Harry wandlessly put up a shield and, while maintaining the shield, began to use his wand firing various curses at the hooded figures in black robes in a quick succession _. 'I don't care about the Weasleys, but I don't want the Death Eaters to kill innocent people,_ ' he thought, as he engrossed himself in the fight, which quickly changed in favour of the Unspeakables. A few minutes later, he observed how Ra leaned over the last of the Death Eaters and pulled his mask from his face.

 _'Lucius Malfoy,'_ Harry realised in disdain, slightly giving the dead wizard a kick with his foot, just when multiple sounds of Apparition could be heard.

"Team five, good job here," Ra commended them, only to add, "Now leave."

HP

James arrived at the Burrow together with the other members of the Order of the Phoenix as well as a couple of Aurors. However, to everyone's apparent relief and surprise, the battle already seemed to be over.

"There was a group of Unspeakables, who left as soon as we arrived," Dumbledore informed them in a grave voice. "Unfortunately, they seem to have killed the attackers instead of stunning them to see justice."

"They got what they deserved," Moody spoke up, giving Lucius Malfoy a kick with his boot, unaware that the same leg of the blonde wizard had already made contact with another boot just a couple of minutes ago.

"They should have been given the opportunity to redeem themselves," Dumbledore contradicted. "Moreover, I wonder how the Unspeakables heard the news so much faster than ourselves."

' _That's because we only heard it from them, you moron,'_ James thought, not bothering to reply to the old wizard.

"Thank Merlin they did," Sirius growled, "otherwise, the Weasleys would all be dead."

"There were five men in grey robes and eight Death Eaters," Molly Weasley, who had by now approached the group, seemingly shaken, informed them.

While Dumbledore proceeded to speak with the Weasleys, James and his family members returned home to continue with his daughter's birthday party.

HP

While Dumbledore seemed very much angered by the fact that the Unspeakables had received the news of the attack faster than the Order, team 5 of the Unspeakables were extremely contented with themselves.

Croaker and Demon commended the team, and Mento almost burst into tears, when he personally thanked each of his teammates later on in the team room.

"Apart from Serpent, you know who I am," he spoke up, turning to Harry. "Serpent, I want you to know that I'm Fabian Prewitt. Molly Weasley is my sister. It means a lot to me that my sister and my nephews are still alive, even if they believe me to be dead," he told the youngest of the Unspeakables.

"I'm glad that we could help," Harry replied. Efficiently keeping his own thoughts about the redheaded woman to himself, he smiled at the older wizard, who had taken his hood off.

"Now let's begin with our training," Ra cut in, and everyone quickly headed to the training room. _'I wonder who Ra and Meta are,'_ Harry thought, as he unobtrusively observed his teammates. _'Regulus said they were related to me, but I thought that everyone related to us belonged to our extended family anyway.'_

"Serpent, stop day dreaming," Demon reprimanded him in a sharp voice, bringing Harry out of his musings.

"Sorry," he replied and summoned his magic to assist his teammates with some quickly cast curses.

HP

Harry was so busy studying for his Potions Mastery, training with the Unspeakables and spending time with his girlfriend and his extended family that he was almost shocked upon hearing that school was going to begin in two weeks' time.

When he arrived at the training room on Monday morning, Croaker was just engrossed in a conversation with Demon and Meta, however, upon seeing him, he immediately turned to him.

"Serpent," Croaker spoke up in a firm voice, "There will be no training for you this week and the next. Instead, you're going to take your OWLs and NEWTs in the ministry," he informed him. "I've taken the liberty to register you for all exams. Meta will show you, where they're going to take place."

"What?" Harry asked in disbelief. "But I'm not prepared at all."

"Serpent," Raros suddenly addressed him from behind, placing a hand on his right shoulder, "you're as ready as one can be. Trust me, I've discussed the matter with your family, and they all agree that it would be the best to finish your schooling, so that you can concentrate on other matters. You've been beyond NEWT level for at least two years now."

"All right then, Serpent, we need to leave," Meta informed him, and Harry quickly followed the young witch, having the impression as if he were stuck in a dream.

Right before leaving the rooms of the Unspeakables, Meta held him back for a moment. "It's up to you if you remain under your robes or take them off before leaving. I sometimes take them off, as I'm working as an Auror as well, but, well, it's up to you. Today, I'd take them off, as they know who you are anyway."

 _'An Auror? Who is she?'_ Harry wondered, before he complied and took his robes off, leaving them in a shelf next to the exit like his colleague did. "Do you know who I am?" he enquired in a small voice.

Meta let out a small chuckle, before she admitted, "Ra guessed it and told me one day. I'm sorry. I'm Tonks by the way, Regulus' cousin."

"Oh all right," Harry replied, pensively. "Regulus told me that we were related," he added, questioningly.

"Your grandmother Dorea Potter was a Black," Tonks informed him, and Harry stared at the young witch in surprise, when her hair changed to a bright pink. "She was a Black, actually the sister of Arcturus Black and my great great aunt, I think. Oh well, yes, we're related. You're also related to Ra, you know."

"Who is he?" Harry enquired. "According to Regulus, he was the one who made me take these tests. If I fail, I want to know whom to blame," he added, only half-jokingly.

Tonks let out a long sigh. "You know that I'm not supposed to tell you that. He's the head of the Black family."

Harry shrugged, before he recalled what Regulus and Sirius had told him many years ago. "Wait, Arcturus Black?"

Tonks merely grinned in what Harry accepted as confirmation. By now they had arrived at what seemed to be the test room, and his young colleague wished him good luck, before she left him to Griselda Marchbanks.

HP

"Good morning, Mr. Potter," the older witch addressed him and introduced him to Professor Tofty, the examiner. "During this week, you're going to take your OWLs in Transfiguration today, Charms tomorrow, Herbology on Wednesday, Runes on Thursday, Alchemy on Friday and Care of Magical Creatures on Saturday."

Harry shrugged. "All right. My family registered me without even telling me before this morning," he admitted. "If I fail, I can re-take them next year though, can't I?"

Casting him a strange look, the witch replied, "Yes, that's possible. It would be surprising though, as you're scheduled to take your NEWTs in the same subjects next week."

"What about Potions?" Professor Tofty enquired.

"Mr. Potter has already taken his OWLs and NEWTs in Potions a few years ago," Marchbanks informed the examiner, who nodded contentedly."

"Now you're going to have the theoretical tests in the mornings and the practical ones in the afternoons," Marchbanks continued. "Do you have any questions?"

Harry shook his head. _'I'm totally unprepared for this,'_ he thought in annoyance. _'This is even beyond asking anything.'_

To his relief, however, at least the first test was very easy, and by the end of the day, he returned to the training room, inwardly sighing in relief.

"Serpent," Ra addressed him, "a word in private if you don't mind."

 _'Oh no,_ ' Harry thought, _'what did I do wrong?'_ He hurried after the old Unspeakable, wracking his brain in worry.

Once they reached the team room, Ra pulled down his hood, and Harry felt his assumption confirmed that it was a very old wizard.

"We've never met outside these halls," he told him, "but I am Arcturus Black, the head of the Black family. You're also a Black by blood, considering that your grandmother was not only my best friend's wife, but also my sister. Therefore, I am very interested in your schooling and training. This is why I decided to not watch your family's infantile attempts of education anymore and make you take these exams now. You're a very capable wizard, and as I'm not fond of Dumbledore, I believe that it's time for you to replace him as headmaster. Apparently, your young sister Anni is going to take over his many other positions at due time; however, you are not only of age due to being an Unspeakable, but also capable enough to finish your education at this time and take one of his influential positions."

"All right," Harry replied in surprise at the old wizard's kind words.

HP

The other tests were as easy as the first, and by the end of the week, he was only glad that it was over.

When he returned home on Saturday night, he confronted Regulus. "Could Ra not have chosen a better timing?" he enquired. "I know that he enlisted your help for that. My girlfriend transferred to Hogwarts to attend classes together with me, and you make me take my OWLs early?"

Regulus chuckled. "I'm sorry, Harry. It was not only my idea. The whole family agreed on it, and when I spoke with Ra and Croaker about the matter, they were all for it, and Demon agreed. It went well, didn't it?"

Harry shrugged. "I think so, but…" He slowly trailed off, glancing at Gabi, who was looking at him wearing a huge smile.

"It's fine, 'Arry. I'll attend classes togezer wiz Susan, 'Ermione and Neville and see you in zee evenings," she spoke up in a firm voice. "Zat's completely fine wiz me."

During the following week, Harry took his NEWTs in the same subjects and by the end of the week was sure that he had at least passed everything. _'I don't care for the grades anyway,'_ he thought, as he returned home after the last exam.

HP

Back home, he soon became distracted by his siblings' conversation about the upcoming Sorting.

"Harry, can you talk to Sopho and ask him to sort Gabi into Ravenclaw please," Susan enquired, making Harry realise that school was going to commence again after a few days' time.

The thought _'I'm not going to attend classes together with them,'_ crossed his mind. However, he dismissed the idea for the time being and swiftly called for Sopho.

The Sorting Hat appeared in front of himself, giving him a look of pure disdain.

"Don't tell me you called me here to tell me where to sort your girlfriend," he spoke up, reproachfully, causing Harry to let out a deep sigh.

"Sopho," Harry replied, giving the Hat a puppy dog look, "please sort her into Ravenclaw. Gabi knows my family in Ravenclaw. She doesn't know anyone else, and it's already bad enough for her that I won't attend classes together with her. Is there anything that I can do for you in return?"

Sopho slightly raised his brim in apparent amusement. "Yes. Please save all of us from that Umbitch bitch."

"What?" Harry enquired, having no clue what the Hat was talking about.

"The Minister of Magic wants to send his Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge to Hogwarts to teach a new subject "Magical Education". Umbitch is a total bitch though, and I believe that she doesn't fit into Hogwarts at all. Moreover, the old grumpy one should have asked you beforehand."

"That's true," Harry agreed. "Who knows about this?" he suddenly remembered to ask.

"No one but the headmaster. He told me he'll tell his colleagues on Monday morning," Sopho informed him.

"Thanks Sopho," Harry replied in determination. "I'll see what I can do."

Returning to the Parlour, he addressed the topic with his extended family, much to everyone's annoyance.

"He didn't tell us anything yet," Minerva confirmed.

"However, Sopho is right, and Umbridge is an absolute bitch," Amelia added, pensively.

"The question is," Sirius spoke up, pensively, "if Harry should simply forbid her to teach or if we should thoroughly prank and annoy the stupid bitch."

"That's always good, and a new subject has its merits," Susan spoke up, glancing at Niamh.

"Yeah, that's true," her sister agreed, smiling.

Harry let out a groan. "Oh no, Hermione is rubbing off on them," he moaned. "I agree with Sirius' idea though," he added, giving his godfather a mischievous look.

HP

During the few days before the beginning of the school year, James, David, Severus and Lily occupied themselves with a special project, and in the end, Severus showed everyone a small phial.

"What's ziss?" Gabi enquired with apparent interest, and the others realised that the colour of the liquid in the phial changed alternating between pink and a light green.

"This is the outcome of our recent research," Severus explained, smirking. "It's our welcome gift for the new professor."

"What will it do?" Anni asked in obvious excitement, jumping up and down on both feet in front of the Potions Master.

"That's for us to know and for you to perhaps find out at some stage," Severus replied, grinning mischievously.

"Ah, Uncy Sebby, you'we mean," the little girl said, accusingly, causing the professor to smirk even more.

"Cicero," he called his personal house-elf, who popped up in front of him.

"Please spell this into Professor Umbridge's system, as soon as she arrives at Hogwarts tomorrow," he instructed the elf. "She will probably arrive through the fireplace in the headmaster's office, but I'm not certain," he added, pensively.

"Of course, Master Severus," Cicero replied, mirroring the smirk on Severus' face, as he probably knew from the professor's expression that it had to be a prank potion.

"I'll tell you later on," David promised, as he picked Anni up and made himself comfortable on the sofa together with her.

"I hope it'll be enough," Harry spoke up, having heard enough from Amelia to know that the new professor was a walking disaster.

"Otherwise, you're just going to dismiss her," Salazar instructed him from the painting.

"I will," Harry promised, firmly.

"Don't forget that in a certain aspect you're responsible for the students," Helga told him in a soft voice, only to add, "When are you going to take over as headmaster by the way, now that you've finished your schooling?"

"I can't dismiss Dumbledore from now to tomorrow," Harry replied, uncertainly. "Maybe next year. We'll see how everything develops with Voldemort and such."

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. Have a nice weekend :)_


	33. Umbitch

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 _Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing_

* * *

"Gabi," Susan spoke up, giving her a questioning look. "Are you going to take the Hogwarts Express tomorrow?"

Harry turned to his girlfriend. "Usually, everyone gets to the school from London by train. It takes most of the day. Do you want to board the train, or should we just enjoy another day on the beach and simply walk you over to the castle, when everyone arrives?" he asked, knowing that the Unspeakables had already given him the day off to celebrate the completion of his exams.

Gabrielle smiled. "A few 'ours on zee beach 'ere wiz you sound better zan alone on a train, especially in zis beautiful sunshine," she replied, sounding very happy.

"We'll all join you on the beach," Niamh spoke up, grinning broadly.

"Remus," Harry addressed the Marauder, "could you perhaps find something to teach these annoying soon-to-be second-years, before they go back to school?"

Before Remus could do as much as respond, he was silenced by Niamh, David and Aidan, who saw fit to climb onto his lap, followed by the baby quartet, before they all landed on the floor, laughing.

HP

Through the magical window in the parlour, they could see the students arrive, and as soon as the first carriages made their way up to the castle, Harry and his extended family headed over to the founders' quarters and from there to the Great Hall. Harry led Gabi to the high table, knowing that she would have to be sorted together with the first-years.

To his surprise, Lily motioned him to take a seat at the high table next to her. "As you won't attend classes but still teach the first through third-years in Potions, you'll just have to sit with the teachers," she informed him, and Flitwick, who was sitting on his other side, nodded with obvious enthusiasm.

"We have received your OWL and NEWT results this morning, and I'm very proud that a student of mine has received such a high degree in Charms as the youngest wizard ever," the half goblin informed him, grinning broadly.

Dumbledore did not comment, but was wearing an extremely upset expression. _'Probably because he didn't know about it in advance,_ ' Harry realised in amusement. _'I just hope Sopho keeps his end of the bargain,'_ he thought, as he impatiently waited for the last first-years to be sorted.

Finally, it was Gabi's turn, and Sopho swiftly sorted her into Ravenclaw.

 _'Yes,'_ he thought, contentedly, as he observed how Susan quickly made space for Gabi between her and Neville. He only returned his attention back to the high table, when the new professor almost interrupted the headmaster, appearing eager to say something.

He found her unsympathetic on the first glance. It was not only that she was wearing pink robes, which were just disgusting, but also that she giggled like an eleven-year-old.

"I am the Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, a high position at the Ministry of Magic," she introduced herself. "As such I'm going to tech you about Magical Education, how it's supposed to be and what needs to be changed to make Hogwarts better," she explained, only to add, "I'm sure that we're all going to be good friends very soon."

At that point, Harry tuned out her ramblings and engrossed himself in his own musings.

HP

Susan eyed the new professor in disgust. _'What a self-centred bitch,'_ she thought, hoping that Harry would kick her out soon enough.

"A new subject," Hermione whispered with apparent eagerness. "How exciting."

"I thought so, too," Susan admitted, "but considering how annoying the woman seems to be, I wonder if it's worth it."

"Oh Merlin, what a bitch," Neville uttered. "Maybe Harry should just kick her out."

"Please do so…"

"… and if possible right away," the Weasley twins joined the conversation from behind them.

Susan turned around to face the twins. "Sorry, but Harry can't do that right away, as Niamh and Hermione are eager to experience her class. I was too, frankly speaking, but that sentiment has already passed after her speech. Only when Hermione and Niamh give up as well, he can do as much as dismiss her."

"Oh no," the twins replied, simultaneously, feigning to faint and drop from their seats, just when dinner finally popped up on the tables.

HP

The fifth-years' first class with Professor Umbridge was a horror. She made them read from a text book, which she appeared to have written herself, and explained that they were supposed to learn about magical theory and not practise magic using their wands.

After enduring the pink robed professor for an hour, knowing that it was not wise to contradict her in any way, Susan was upset enough to just skip History of Magic and head to the Potions classroom to speak with Harry about the professor.

"Let's wait until the end of the week," Harry decided, and Susan nodded her understanding, glad that it was already Wednesday.

Unfortunately, on the third day of classes, the second-year trio managed to get themselves into trouble, when Aidan enquired how they were supposed to fight Voldemort, when they did not practise to defend themselves in class.

"You-Know-Who is dead," the pink-robed witch replied in a firm voice, causing David to see read and explain that his brother had witnessed his rebirth and could testify to it.

Unbeknownst to Harry, David earned himself a detention with the professor for defending his brother, when the professor accused him of being a liar. Feeling not only upset but also very uncertain about the matter, David made his way to the fifth-years' study room to speak with his older siblings.

"David, I'm going to join you for your detention in the form of a mosly," Neville promised the twelve-year-old. "Moreover, she's a professor, and I wonder if she's able to do much magic anyway. So, she won't do anything to you. Nevertheless, I'll be there."

"Thank you so much," David replied, gratefully, feeling very much relieved by his older brother's reassurance. After a glance at the time display on the wall, he slowly made his way to Umbridge's office.

HP

 _'How strange,'_ Dolores Umbridge thought, as she waited for her student to show up, _'ever since I arrived at Hogwarts, everything in my surroundings is green, even my robes look green. They're supposed to be pink just like the decorations in this room. The question is if everything is indeed green or if I'm having a problem with my eyes. Maybe I should take a trip to the ministry healer tomorrow afternoon.'_

She barely looked up, when her student arrived, unaware that a small animal accompanied the boy. She quickly instructed him to write lines with her well prepared blood quill, before she leaned back in her seat and observed the little git write into his hand.

 _'A blood quill,'_ Neville realised in shock, as David began to write, unconsciously rubbing his left hand at the sting that he seemed to feel from his writing. _'I need to do something,'_ he thought. He quickly flashed out of the office and transformed back into his human form. Glad that Harry had taught him and Susan how to send a Patronus message, he quickly sent a Patronus to Harry.

 _'I urgently need your help. Meet me in front of Umbridge's office.'_

Knowing that Harry would come as soon as possible, he transformed back into the mosly to remain hidden for the time being.

 _'Thank Merlin,'_ he thought, when his brother appeared in his Unspeakable robes mere seconds later.

"What happened?" Harry enquired, urgently, as soon as Neville transformed back.

"Umbridge is using a blood quill on David. We need to stop her or better yet kill her," he hissed in anger.

"Let me do that. As an Unspeakable, I can kill people," Harry replied in apparent determination.

Together, they transformed back and an instant later, two moslys flashed into the office, where Harry made his way right over to the professor and bit her a couple of times.

Changing back into his human form, he instructed David to stop writing instantly.

"Thank Merlin," David uttered, rubbing his left hand.

"Leave that," Harry instructed him. "Go and ask Niamh or Susan to help you with murtlap essence."

Turning back to the professor, who seemed barely alive anymore, he transfigured her into a toad, glad that Neville finally transformed back into his human form as well.

"Phoenixes now," he instructed his brother and quickly transformed, before he picked up the toad and trilled, #Out onto the grounds.#

When the two phoenixes met in front of the large entrance doors, Harry motioned his brother to follow him, and next to each other they flew right into the forest, where Harry dropped the toad, which he was carrying in his foot, right into the nest of the acromantulas.

HP

Exchanging a glance of relief, they flashed back home, where they transformed back, realising in relief that David was sitting on the sofa cuddling with Anni, who was gently holding his hand into a bowl of murtlap.

"David, are you all right?" Harry enquired, giving his brother a concerned look.

"Yeah, thanks so much for helping me," David replied, smiling.

"That was Neville, not me," Harry replied, glancing at his oldest brother.

"Thank Merlin I was there and Harry came immediately," Neville muttered.

"What exactly happened?" Lily enquired. "I mean after David returned home. We already heard what Umbridge did to him.

"I killed her," Harry revealed and explained, what he had done to the professor in the pink robes.

"Oh Merlin, don't tell me such a thing," Amelia suddenly groaned, wearing a troubled expression. "From today onwards, I'm the new head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Scrimgeour became minister of magic."

"Congratulations, Aunt Amy," Harry replied, grinning broadly. "Whatever I did, I did while wearing my Unspeakable robes by the way."

Amelia let out a relieved sigh. "Thank Merlin," she breathed, looking fondly at Harry and Neville. "I wouldn't want to have to punish you."

"Well, good riddance in any case," James spoke up. "What do you think? Should we inform the headmaster?"

"No," Amelia replied in a firm voice. "We don't know anything about what might have happened to the toad."

 _'She means it,'_ Harry thought, realising that everyone seemed to agree with the new head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

"Aunt Amy," Neville spoke up, seemingly pensive. "I'm happy for your promotion, but why? What happened to Scrimgeour?"

Amelia smiled at the boy. "Scrimgeour became the new Minister of Magic, after Fudge was voted out of the position by the Wizengamot this morning," she explained, seemingly contented.

HP

Unfortunately, Scrimgeour did not remain the minister for more than a fortnight. Harry was just sitting on a sofa in the Parlour cuddling with Gabi, when Croaker's Patronus reached him.

 _'Teams 3 and 5 to Scrimgeour's home. Death Eater attack.'_

"Sorry Gabi, I need to go," Harry spoke up and, turning to Amelia, added, "Scrimgeour's home is being attacked."

While Amelia busied herself contacting her department, Harry grabbed his Unspeakable robes and apparated away, glad that the Unspeakables' Patronus made it possible for him to find any spot on the Earth. The instant he arrived, he found himself engrossed in a fight.

Together with the other Unspeakables, Harry sent the harshest curses he could muster at the Death Eaters, inwardly sighing in relief, when the Aurors arrived two minutes later.

HP

"We need to get more and above all faster information," Dumbledore roared. "Just like at the Burrow, we only arrived, when the fight was already over with a lot of dead wizards."

 _'They were all Death Eaters. They should better be dead,'_ James thought in annoyance.

"If the Unspeakables and the Aurors didn't manage to safe Scrimgeour's life, we wouldn't have been able to do so either," Sirius spoke up, matter-of-factly.

"We could still have prevented the fight from becoming lethal," Dumbledore insisted.

HP

On Saturday, Amelia, Minerva and James were absent due to an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot. However, as displeased the extended family was about the meeting taking place during a weekend, as happy they were with the outcome.

When Amelia had been chosen as the new Minister of Magic, she had appointed Frank as her successor as head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

"Sorry that I couldn't ask you beforehand," Amelia apologized to Frank, who smirked in return. "Your mother, however, told me that you'd surely accept the position."

Frank let out a long sigh. "I will, but please make sure that you're safe, Madam Minister. I wouldn't want to replace you there anytime soon."

"Thank Merlin we're quite safe here," Lily spoke up, contentedly. "Anyway, congratulations to the two of you."

"In fact," Amelia spoke up, seemingly confused, "there was a Tom Gaunt, who applied to become the new minister, and the pureblood fraction supported him, however, fortunately, we were able to gain the votes of the neutral families against him. I suppose that he's Voldemort?" she enquired, turning to Harry.

"Yes, he is the real Voldemort, not the one who abducted David, but the one whose rebirth I witnessed last year," Harry informed her.

"We really need to do something against him," James spoke up in a firm voice.

"I have an idea," Harry said, pensively. "In any case, we should ward Hogwarts as well as Gryffindor and Slytherin Manor to not allow anyone entrance, who is wearing the Dark Mark. Please let me discuss this with my colleagues next week."

"Please do so," Amelia replied, seemingly grateful. "That would help immensely."

HP

With his claim for the ministry position, Voldemort believed that the Wizengamot would be distracted for a while. Under the excuse of waiting for the result, he made his way into the Department of Magical Mysteries.

"Where do you think you're going?" an older wizard, whom Voldemort did not know, asked in a strict voice.

"I'm Tom Gaunt, a ministry employee," he replied, when a colleague of the man nodded.

"Yeah Jan, he works with Gerald. It's all right."

 _'I've no idea what they're speaking of,'_ Voldemort thought in surprise. _'Tom Gaunt hasn't been working at the ministry for about a year,'_ he thought, however, efficiently hid his surprise and went to look for the prophecy. Fortunately remaining unsupervised, he managed to cast a spell to find the correct orb with the inscription ' _Tom Riddle – Harry Potter'_ among a few thousand of prophecies.

However, he was not able to find the prophecy, even if he recast the spell three times and even tried another spell to search for the orb. _'Oh well, apparently knowing the first half of it will be enough. Everything comes back to Potter in any case. The second half can't be important enough to fret about it,'_ he thought. _'Harry Potter is still only about a fifth-year student, so he shouldn't be able to fight me in any way. The earlier I kill him the better though, before Dumbledore sees fit to properly teach him to fight._ '

HP

After a few days of pondering how to proceed, Voldemort gathered what remained of his Death Eaters and told them about his plan.

"I'm going to attack Hogwarts," he informed his followers. "I will enter the school on Saturday, when the students will be at Hogsmeade, as the gate will be open on that day. It won't be a problem to hide in the castle for a few hours, and when everyone is back in the school, I will let you all in."

"Who are we going to fight then? The whole school?" one of his Death Eaters spoke up, causing Voldemort to smirk.

"If necessary, yes, but the main point is that I kill Harry Potter," Voldemort replied in a firm voice. "I don't care about anyone else."

HP

The next Hogsmeade visit was scheduled for Halloween. However, when the headmaster announced the matter to the students at dinner on Thursday evening, Harry inwardly groaned.

"Will I be allowed to accompany a student to Hogsmeade?" he asked, tentatively, causing the surrounding professors to give him passionate looks.

Glancing at the headmaster, Minerva suggested, "Why don't you take her to Diagon Alley? If you go to Hogsmeade together, the question if it's appropriate or not would be your smallest problem I think."

"That's true, but will I be allowed to take her to Diagon Alley?" Harry enquired, looking at the headmaster.

"That, my boy, will only be possible if an adult accompanies you," the headmaster replied in a grave voice.

"I'll come with you then," Lily offered, knowing that the headmaster was not aware of the fact that Harry had been emancipated due to his work for the Unspeakables.

"Thanks Mum," Harry replied, knowing that his mother would not hinder them having a wonderful day for themselves.

"Can we go to ze zoo?" Gabi enquired, when Harry spoke to her after dinner. "I've 'eard zat zey have many magical animals in ze zoo in London in a part zat is not open for ze muggles. We can take Anni wiz us. She'll love zee animals."

"Let's do that," Harry replied, smiling.

In the end, Harry, Gabi, Lily and Anni spent a wonderful day in the magical part of the London zoo and thoroughly enjoyed themselves, before they returned home to spend the rest of the afternoon on the beach, unaware that Lord Voldemort chose that time to enter the Hogwarts grounds.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the last chapter._

 _As this story is almost finished, I have begun writing a new story, which I just re-named to "Death's Loyalty Card". Please check it out and read and review as you did with this one - thank you so much"_


	34. A Portrait's Fun

**What if Lily was not muggleborn  
by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not making any profit by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

During dinner at Hogwarts later the same day, the Sorting Hat appeared right in front of Harry – much to the students' and teachers' surprise.

"Harry Potter-Slytherin-Gryffindor, Voldemort is standing on the grounds shouting for you," Sopho informed him, causing Harry to nod in determination.

A flick of the headmaster's wand caused the doors to the entrance halls as well as the front doors to become invisible from the inside of the Great Hall, and everyone could see a lone figure in black robes standing there, waiting.

"Harry Potter, come out here and fight me like a man," he demanded using a Sonorus charm to make himself heard.

"Death Eaters are trying to get onto the grounds, but the wards are keeping them outside," Sopho further informed everyone sitting at the high table. "Unfortunately, Voldemort does not bear the Dark Mark, which is why he could get inside, probably while the gates were open during the Hogsmeade visit."

"Thanks Sopho," Harry replied in a firm voice. "I'll go."

He swiftly sent his Patronus to Croaker and Amelia informing them that Death Eaters were trying to get into Hogwarts from the Hogsmeade side, before he tried to rise from his chair, however, felt himself being restrained by his mother and grandmother.

"Harry, it doesn't have to be you," Lily said in a firm voice.

"I'm afraid that it must be Harry," Dumbledore offered in a grave voice.

"No," Minerva contradicted, firmly. "The prophecy doesn't apply to him. Only you and Voldemort believe so."

"Voldemort can't be killed yet anyway," Dumbledore said in clear irritation.

"And why might that be?" Harry enquired, his question laced with sarcasm. "The Horcruxes are all gone by now."

"Look," Lily suddenly blurted out, pointing out towards the grounds, where a single man was stepping over to face the evil wizard.

"Who's that, and where did he come from?" every single witch and wizard within the Great Hall wondered, unaware of how the Sorting Hat stretched bent his brim to a smirk, while the headmaster stared at Harry in apparent shock.

HP

At Gryffindor Manor, Sirius was just playing with the youngest quartet in his dog form, when their attention was suddenly drawn to the magical window that occupied almost half of the wall and allowed a view over the Hogwarts grounds.

A man was standing on the grounds, using a Sonorus charm to call out Harry. "Harry Potter, come out here and fight me like a man," he demanded in the direction of Hogwarts.

"That must be Voldemort," James blurted out, having watched a couple of memories from David about the wizard.

"Anni!" Salazar suddenly shouted from the painting. "Call me out of the painting. I'm going to kill him before he can harm our Harry."

However, Anni merely stared at her great grandfather in surprise, as she had not noticed what was happening.

"Anni, please do as granddad says," James instructed her. "It's very important. Voldemort has come to kill Harry."

"Come Gwanddad, pwease fight for Hawwy!" Anni shouted, forcing as much magic into the order as she could, before she collapsed in exhaustion.

Knowing that the others would look after the girl, Salazar merely rushed out of the manor and approached Voldemort from behind.

"Who do you think you are demanding to fight with my heir?" he sneered, causing Voldemort to turn on the spot.

"I am Lord Voldemort, the heir of Slytherin, the most brilliant founder of Hogwarts, and who are you?" he enquired. "Harry Potter is my prophesized opponent. He's the only one who can kill me, and I intend to kill him before he does."

"This Harry Potter is not the one of the prophecy; that was a copy of him, who fought against one of your Horcruxes many years ago," Salazar informed him. "I am Salazar Slytherin, by the way, and Harry is my heir and the owner of Hogwarts. You're merely a descendant of a cousin of mine, nothing of worth, that family. Just so you know, by the way, you won't be able to harm me, as I'm already dead and have been for almost one thousand years."

HP

"Is that Salazar? But how…" Minerva trailed off, giving Lily a questioning look.

"Anni must have called him out of the painting," Lily replied, letting out a deep sigh. "She already did such a thing, when she ordered Helga to come out of the painting and heal Cian's broken arm. Apparently, she had one hour, before magic returned her to the painting."

Seeing what was happening on the grounds and knowing that the conversation between Salazar and Voldemort held everyone's attention, Harry quickly transformed into his mosly form, before he apparated out onto the grounds, still not daring to believe that it was really Salazar who was standing there.

In the meantime, Voldemort had begun to cast spells at Salazar, which the ancient wizard dodged, before he himself cast one selected spell that was not only ancient and dark, but also lethal.

An instant later, Voldemort slumped onto the ground. Just to be certain that he was really dead, Harry bit him right into his face a few times, only then noticing the sounds of fight in front of the gates.

He quickly transformed back into his human form and stepped over to Salazar. "Thanks Granddad, that was just amazing."

"You're welcome, Grandson," Salazar replied, smiling. "Maybe it was you who gave him the final kick though."

"No," Harry disagreed. "I just wanted to make sure that he was really dead, but it was you who vanquished him."

Salazar pointed his wand at the wizard on the ground and hissed something in Parseltongue, which Harry did not understand. Only when Salazar let his wand sink, he enquired, "What was that?"

"That was to end the lives of his followers," Salazar admitted, and Harry realised from the lack of sounds from the direction of Hogsmeade that the fight in front of the gates had stopped.

Apparently noticing that the fight had ended, many people came out of the castle heading towards them.

"We better be gone," Salazar groaned and quickly transformed into his snake Animagus form slithering back to the manor, while Harry chose a similar form to accompany his grandfather home, where the ancient wizard was sucked back into the painting after a short while.

HP

In spite of his old age, Dumbledore was the first to reach the defeated wizard.

"Are you sure that this was Voldemort?" he asked his deputy, who let out a relieved sigh upon seeing the dead figure.

"Yes it was," she confirmed in a soft voice.

"Do you know who was fighting him?" the headmaster continued. "It can't be Harry, as he was with us until a few minutes ago."

"That was Salazar Slytherin," Lily spoke up. "My daughter must have called him out of the painting."

"She what?" Dumbledore gasped, only to bury his head in his hands.

"Minerva," he called out to his deputy, just when a group of Aurors and Unspeakables, led by Amelia Bones and Frank Longbottom, joined them.

"All the Death Eaters are dead," Frank spoke up, pointing to the gates.

Dumbledore let out a deep sigh. "Apparently, Salazar Slytherin killed Voldemort after Professor Slytherin's daughter called him out of a painting. That's all I know. Oh and Minerva, I'm going to retire as of today. I'll vacate my office now. I'm too old for this."

With that, Dumbledore trailed back to the castle, his walking speed showing all the one hundred and fifty years of his age, leaving the whole school looking at his retreating form.

"I'll inform Harry that he has to take over as headmaster tonight," Minerva was the first to speak.

HP

Two weeks later, Salazar Slytherin and his three-year-old great granddaughter Anette each received the Order of Merlin first class for vanquishing Voldemort as the youngest witch and the oldest wizard ever.

Unfortunately, Salazar could only join the party for an hour, before he was called back into his portrait, and at the same time, Lily decided that it was time for her to take her daughter back home.

"It's all right, we'll manage the press conference for them," Frank whispered to Amelia, who was wearing the same expression of exasperation as himself.

"Well, at least they were able to attend the party at all," Amelia replied, smiling, "in contrary to Harry, who chose to travel to France with his girlfriend over the weekend to avoid the ceremony."

"Minister, are you sure that it was the right thing to award him the Order of Merlin as well?" Auror Shacklebolt, who had witnessed their conversation, enquired.

"Yes, according to Salazar Slytherin, Harry was the one who gave Voldemort the final kick that really killed him," Amelia replied in a firm voice. "I merely didn't make it public, knowing how he dislikes the attention. Harry even denied having a hand in the defeat of Voldemort, but none of us believed him. He won't accept the Order of Merlin though; I'm pretty much sure that he'll continue refusing it."

HP

When Harry and Gabrielle returned from their spontaneous visit to France, Harry was extremely happy. The Delacours had agreed for him to ask Gabi to marry him and had solely voiced the wish that she should finish her OWLs and NEWTs before the wedding.

Of course, both had made a promise to the parents, and Gabi told him later on, "I'll study, and zen, I am going to take my NEWTs at ze ministry like you did in zee summer."

Harry appreciated the idea and even encouraged Susan and Neville to do the same, knowing that Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout would like to retire as soon as possible and were only waiting for their successors to finish school.

"Madame Maxime 'as told me zat 'Agrid 'as asked 'er to marry 'im, but she doesn't want to leave Beauxbatons, and 'ee would like to move to France in zee summer. Per'aps, I could become 'is successor for zee Care of Magical Creatures professeur?" Gabi continued, bringing him back to reality.

"Is that what you wish to do?" he asked, sincerely, looking firmly into her eyes.

"I'd like zat," Gabrielle replied, smiling happily.

"Very well," Harry agreed, before he continued to consider further personal changes, however, was careful to voice his thoughts as to not exclude Gabi from his ideas.

"There's another change that I want to make," he said, pensively, "but I think I'm going to do it during the Christmas holidays. I want a large painting of each of the founders in their respective common rooms, for example a life size painting of Rowena in Ravenclaw. What do you think?"

"I sink zat's a very good idea, 'Arry," Gabi replied, before she enquired, "Do zey need to leave zee manor to go zere, or are zere more paintings of zem?"

"There are more," Harry replied, soothingly. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have suggested. I don't want to take them from the family."

"Anozer sing zat you should remedy is to replace zee ghost I sink," Gabi continued the discussion. "'E is too boring."

"Yes, I'll do that," Harry confirmed, "but only after Hermione has taken her NEWTs. I hope that she'll be willing to take over the position."

HP

The students realised soon that Harry was playing his role as the headmaster in a very different way from his predecessor.

On his first day as headmaster, Harry announced to the students that he would be in his office every morning from six-o-clock onwards until breakfast, and that any student or professor would be welcome to come and speak to him about anything that they wished to discuss.

The students seemed to appreciate the offer, and right from the first morning onwards, at least one or two students came to see him every day. Some wanted to discuss certain classes, others the atmosphere in their house and others private matters about their parents or siblings.

Harry listened to each of them and offered advice, help and consideration as best as possible. He also set up a monthly meeting with the students, who attended Hogwarts on a scholarship from the Lily Potter foundation, so that he could make sure that the scholarship was not a waste and all students were happy.

When the students returned to Hogwarts after the Christmas holidays, noticing the life size painting of their founder in the common room, many students, especially from the higher years, came to see him to express their appreciation. Ever since it had become known that Salazar Slytherin had ended the war for them, the students had taken great interest in the founders of Hogwarts.

HP

"You're making a wonderful headmaster, Harry," Lily told him one day, letting out a relieved sigh.

"I hope so," Harry agreed, inwardly grinning, as he pointed to the wall behind his desk, where a large painting of the four founders of Hogwarts had replaced the portraits of the former headmasters.

"I have the Unspeakables to rely on, as well as my wonderful family," he explained. "I don't need the former headmasters let alone Dumbledore to interfere with the school anymore."

"Was that your idea?" Lily asked in surprise, knowing that it was not Harry's style of action to abandon the portraits.

"No, that was Sopho's idea," Harry admitted, grinning at the Sorting Hat, who was proudly sitting on his shelf, stretching his brim to a smile.

"The founders are the real heroes of the school," Sopho commented, "and I'm glad to have them here."

HP

In the summer of the same year, Harry's and Gabi's wedding took place in form of a huge party on the Hogwarts grounds, which the whole school and many more attended.

When Harry and Gabi went around to say good-bye to their family before leaving for their honeymoon in France, Lily took Harry and Gabi aside. _'This is too strange to not ask,'_ she thought in determination.

"I'm surprised that you both just took the name "Potter" as your family name," she whispered, giving her oldest son and his wife a questioning look.

Harry chuckled. "David, Anni and I have made an agreement," he then explained. "While Gabi and I are going to continue the Potter family line, David will continue the Gryffindor line and Anni the Slytherin family. We'll still be one big family, but nevertheless, we want each of the lines to be continued separately."

"Oh, I like that," Lily replied, smiling.

 _'Thank Merlin that Buckbean made me realise at that time that I was not muggleborn,'_ she thought, as she saw the goblin engrossed in a conversation with Salazar Slytherin and hurried over to express her gratitude to the goblin and scold Salazar for making Anni call him out of the painting yet again.

 **The End**

 _Thank you very much for your kind support throughout this story! I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I loved writing it._


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